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Google has illegally built the “monopoly power” with its web advertising business, a federal judge in Virginia ruled, moving with the Ministry of Justice in a historic case against the technology giant that could reshape the basic economy of the management of a modern website.
The decision that Google The antitrust law raped the second victory of the major court of the US government over Google in less than a year in the midst of the affirmations that the company illegally monopolized the key parts of the Internet ecosystem, Including online research. And this is the third decision of this type since a federal jury in December 2023 Google owner app is also an illegal monopoly.
Overall, the trio of decisions highlights the extent of the problems that Google is confronted, increasing the prospect of brochures of penalties that could reshape several aspects of its business, although current and expected calls are probably taking years to play.
Thursday’s decision by District Leonie Brinkema, from the American district court of the Oriental District of Virginia, addresses the $ 31 billion in Google’s advertising activity which corresponds to website publishers with advertisers. This “stack” of technologies determines banners on countless sites on the web.
The lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice has followed years of criticism according to which the extensive role of Google in the digital ecosystem which allows advertisers to place advertisements and for publishers to offer a digital advertising space, represented a conflict of interest that Google exploited anticonc.
Brinkema reassured himself with the argument of the Ministry of Justice by linking its advertising server together and its publisher, Google was able to “establish and protect its monopoly power on these two markets, she wrote in its 115-page decision.
But she also canceled one of the government’s claims linked to the advertising networks of Google’s online advertiser.
“We have won half of this case and we will call on the other half,” said Google regulatory business vice-president Lee-Anne Mulholland, in a statement according to the decision.
“The court found that our advertiser and acquisitions, such as DoubleClick, do not harm competition,” said Mullholland. “We do not agree with the decision of the Court concerning our publisher tools. The publishers have many options and they choose Google because our advertising technology tools are simple, affordable and effective.”
The Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Google had argued that the argument of the Ministry of Justice is “defective” and “slows innovation, would increase advertising costs and make growth for thousands of small businesses and publishers”, according to a press release from a company spokesperson After filing the pursuit in 2023.
However, Brinkema has argued in its decision that Google practices have deprived “the rivals of the ability to compete” and “have substantially harmed the Google publisher’s customers, the competitive process and, in the end, consumers of information on the open web”.
The decision could force Google to deactivate part of its online advertising activities. But the fact that the government has not won over all of its claims makes this result less likely, said William Kovacic, professor of world competition law at the George Washington University Law School.
“The general idea in other antitrust cases is that the remedy must be proportional,” said Kovacic. “The larger the discovery of illegality, the greater the discovery of the deliberation … The greater the platform for a more daring remedy.”
However, he said, Google could be stuck with a driving remedy – such as restrictions on how it can operate or assess its services – “it would not be good for them.”
Certain technological criticisms and media organizations have applauded the decision.
“For years, Google has exercised the power of uncontrolled monopoly on the digital advertising market – to use it to stifle the media industry and force intermediate taxes on all that we buy online,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Technological Surveillance Technical Project, who described the decision as an unequivocal victory for the American people “.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement Thursday that the decision is “a great victory in the fight to break Big Tech … The result of work years to slow down the abuses of technological companies”.
The decision is part of a broader thrust by regulators to verify the power of large technological companies, notably Apple, Meta and Amazon in addition to Google Parent Alphabet. Just this week, the Meta-PDG Mark Zuckerberg Position In a trial on a successful antitrust trial in which the Federal Trade American Commission accused the social media giant of buying potential competitors to stifle competition.
Thursday’s decision, Kovacic said, could “give an impetus” to efforts around the world to suppress Google and other technology giants and “give them confidence to move forward”.
– This story has been updated with additional details and context.