A US judge ruled that Google must face a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by advertisers claiming that the tech giant monopolizes the ad exchange market. However, the judge dismissed some other antitrust claims, including those focused on ad-buying tools used by large advertisers. The decision struck down many claims but allowed at least one key set to proceed.
In his ruling, US District Judge Kevin Castel explained that the advertisers had not plausibly alleged antitrust standing in the markets for ad-buying tools used by large advertisers. However, they plausibly alleged antitrust standing concerning the injuries they purportedly suffered from anti-competitive practices in the ad exchange market and the market for small advertisers’ buying tools.
The judge also said that Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the US and publisher of USA Today, could try to prove in a separate case that Google fraudulently concealed the anticompetitive effects of some technology. Gannett alleged that it sold some of its ad space directly to advertisers, but Google still made the inventory available for auction on its ad exchange to accrue transaction fees for its benefit.
The nationwide litigation sees Google facing several claims on antitrust grounds. The US Justice Department sued Google in January 2023, accusing the company of abusing its dominance in digital advertising. The government asked for the divestiture of the Google Ad Manager suite, including Google’s ad exchange, AdX.
Google Ad Manager is a suite of tools that includes one that allows websites to offer advertising space for sale and exchange that serves as a marketplace that automatically matches advertisers with publishers. Advertisers and website publishers have complained that Google has not been transparent about where ad dollars go, specifically how much goes to publishers and how much goes to Google.
Both Google and Gannett did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
