Google has been found guilty of violating U.S. antitrust laws after a federal court ruled that the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive practices within the digital advertising market.
The ruling, delivered by Judge Leonie Brinkema in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia, states that Google “willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts,” particularly in the open-web display publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.
Seventeen plaintiffs joined in the case, alleging that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server (DFP) and ad exchange (AdX), prioritizing its own services and products over competitors’ in spaces meant to support a fair marketplace. The court found this behavior in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
While the court cleared Google of wrongdoing related to user acquisition practices, it held the company accountable for monopolistic manipulation in ad tech. The 115-page verdict outlines how Google potentially skewed ad placements to benefit its first-party services at the expense of competitors.
In response, Google announced plans to appeal the decision. “We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs. She added that Google’s ad tools remain “simple, affordable, and effective,” and claimed publishers use them by choice.
If Google’s appeal fails, a separate hearing will determine financial penalties and how the company must remedy the antitrust violations—penalties that could cost the tech giant up to $100 million.
