A federal judge has ruled that Google holds illegal monopolies in online advertising markets due to its position between ad buyers and sellers. The ruling, which followed a September trial in Alexandria, Virginia, represents the second major antitrust blow for Google in under a year.
Google’s dominance in the online advertising market has led to concerns about its ability to create strong barriers to entry and sustain its dominance. The company’s acquisition of DoubleClick and Admeld was deemed non-anticompetitive by the judge, but Google will appeal this decision.
The ruling could have significant implications for Google’s ad business, which accounts for the majority of the company’s revenue. If regulators force the company to divest parts of its ad-tech business, it could open up opportunities for smaller players and other competitors to fill the void.
Google is facing increasing competition from emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, particularly OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company is trying to defend its primary business in court while fending off this new competition.
The judge’s ruling also highlights Google’s “conflicts of interest” and the need for the structure of the online advertising market to be untangled. However, many publishers and advertisers will be waiting to see how things shake out before making any big decisions given their reliance on Google’s technology.
In a statement, Google said it disagreed with the court’s decision regarding its publisher tools and that publishers choose the company because its ad-tech tools are simple, affordable, and effective.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/17/google-hit-with-second-antitrust-blow-adding-to-concerns-about-ads.html