Latest news with #Brinkema
Business Insider
04-08-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Adtech company OpenX sues Google, accusing it of anticompetitive tactics that 'crippled' its growth
Adtech company OpenX has accused Google of repeatedly kneecapping its growth through anticompetitive tactics in the digital advertising market — and now it wants payback. OpenX on Monday piggybacked on an antitrust lawsuit previously filed against Google by the US Department of Justice with a lawsuit of its own. The supply-side platform's 88-page lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, said that the tech behemoth's illegal business practices "crippled competitors like OpenX at every turn," making it impossible for them to compete on a "level playing field." Google, the company alleged in its lawsuit, targeted OpenX and used its dominance in the online ad space "to rig the rules by which digital advertising is bought and sold, to the detriment of OpenX and the entire industry." OpenX alleged in its complaint that Google's conduct has "stifled innovation, harmed competition, decreased product quality and caused significant damage to OpenX, as well as to Google's own publisher and advertiser customers." OpenX's lawsuit comes less than four months after a federal judge in the same court ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly in certain online advertising technology markets. The April ruling followed a trial that stemmed from a DOJ lawsuit, which argued that Google used acquisitions and anticompetitive ad auction tactics to build an illegal monopoly of the digital ad market. Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google liable for monopolizing the publisher ad servers and ad exchange markets. OpenX appears to be the first adtech company to bring a related lawsuit against Google since Brinkema's ruling. Google owns an ad server that publishers use to manage their inventory, buying tools that advertisers use to purchase ads, and an ad exchange that connects the two. The judge said that the combination of its ad server and ad exchange gave Google significant control over which ads appear on websites. The court could potentially force a breakup of Google's adtech business. Google plans to appeal the judge's ruling. (The remedies portion of the trial is set to begin on September 22.) "Now that the Court has found Google's conduct to be illegal and anticompetitive, this lawsuit seeks to recover damages for the harm caused to us and our shareholders — and to help ensure fair competition going forward," OpenX CEO John Gentry said in a statement. OpenX's lawsuit said that the California-based company, founded in 2008, has only a small percentage of the multibillion-dollar ad exchange market and that its publisher ad server "was driven out of the market by Google's conduct" and shut down in 2019. " Among other things, Google has coerced publishers not to work with OpenX through illegal tying arrangements, exploited its monopolies to rig digital advertising auctions so that OpenX wins fewer transactions, and steered advertiser dollars that Google controls away from OpenX and towards Google's own ad exchange, all while concealing much of its conduct from both OpenX and Google's own advertising customers," the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, an unspecified amount in damages, and an injunction "prohibiting Google's anticompetitive conduct."
Mint
17-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Texas Google Antitrust Trial Delayed Pending Related DOJ Case
(Bloomberg) -- A judge delayed an Aug. 11 trial against Alphabet Inc.'s Google over claims by a Texas-led group of states that the company illegally monopolized the market for tools to publish online display advertisements. US District Judge Sean Jordan in Plano, Texas, will reschedule the trial after a related US Justice Department case is resolved. It's the second delay for the case, which was initially scheduled for late March. The case includes 15 other states and Puerto Rico. It is the second antitrust lawsuit to target Google's advertising technology and potentially force a sale of some of the business. The suit is also seeking more than $100 billion in civil penalties under various state antitrust and consumer protection laws. In April, a federal judge in Virginia largely ruled for the Justice Department and a separate group of states in their own antitrust case over Google's ad tech business, following a trial last year. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google illegally monopolized the market for software used by web publishers to sell ads and an exchange matching buyers and sellers of online ads. Brinkema has set a September hearing to determine a fix, which could include breaking up the company's ad tech business. The Texas trial will be scheduled after Brinkema's ruling. The two cases share many overlaps. Both argue that Google monopolized the market for display ads across the web by dominating all aspects of the sale of online ads. Both are seeking a break up of Google's ad tech business and arguing that past acquisitions by the company, including DoubleClick in 2008, should have been blocked by antitrust enforcers. Google is also facing a ruling in a separate Justice Department antitrust case that could force it to sell its popular Chrome web browser and make other changes to its search business. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google illegally monopolize the online search market and is now deciding on a remedy. More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The fate of Google's search empire is now up to a judge
Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) massive search empire faces its largest existential threat as US District Judge Amit Mehta prepares to decide whether to splinter the company's most lucrative business as part of its antitrust trial. Mehta heard closing arguments from both Google and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the remedies phase of the antitrust case, during which the sides argued against and for dramatic changes to the company, respectively. The Justice Department prevailed in the initial liability phase of the trial, with Mehta finding that Google violated antitrust laws in the markets for 'general search' and 'general search text' ads, advertisements that appear at the top of search results pages. During the remedy phase, the DOJ argued that Mehta should force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, share its search data with rivals, and kill its exclusivity agreements that secure Google as the default search engine on mobile devices and web browsers. Google has already said it will appeal the initial finding that it operates as an illegal monopoly, but the process could take years before the company and the DOJ reach a final resolution. Google still has to contend with another antitrust trial that has reached the remedies phase related to its online advertising technology business. US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema also found Google liable in that case, which the Justice Department brought against the company, in April. In that case, Brinkema found that the DOJ proved Google held and abused its monopoly power in the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges for open-web display advertising. But Brinkema found that the DOJ failed to establish a relevant market for advertising networks, the third leg in the department's case against Google. If Mehta agrees with the DOJ's proposals, Google would have to fundamentally change much of its current search business. Its Chrome browser is the most popular web browser in the world, thanks to its inclusion in Android phones, which make up the majority of smartphones globally. Losing Chrome, which uses Google as its default search engine, could cut Google off from its users. Forcing the company to end its exclusivity contracts with other tech firms would also impact Google and its partners. Google, for example, has an agreement with Apple (AAPL) that sees Google pay Apple $20 billion a year in exchange for Apple using Google as the default search engine in its Safari browser. In 2024, Apple reported full-year Services revenue of $96.1 billion. Slashing $20 billion from that would take a significant chunk out of Apple's bottom line. Google has argued that the DOJ's recommended remedies go too far and that they'll only help competitors like Microsoft and its Bing search engine while hurting device makers, forcing them to raise prices for consumers. Lingering in the background is the continued evolution of generative AI and its impact on the search market. The DOJ initially filed its suit in 2020, three years before ChatGPT upended the tech industry, creating new competitors like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Anthropic's own Claude search bot. During the search antitrust trial, Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue said search queries in Apple's Safari browser were down for the first time in April, adding that he believed users were moving their queries to generative AI apps. Google, however, disputed the claim, saying that it continues to see growth across its products, including on iOS devices. The company has also released its own competing generative AI offerings, including AI Overviews, which appear at the top of its search results page, and AI Mode, a new feature similar to ChatGPT that allows users to interact with Google via a chatbot interface. Mehta is expected to provide his findings in the remedies hearing in August. In the meantime, Google also has to prepare for the remedies hearings in its advertising trial. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@ Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
1News
07-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
US expands attempt to break up Google with an adtech teardown
The US Justice Department is doubling down on its attempt to break up Google by asking a federal judge to force the company to part with some of the technology powering the company's digital ad network. The proposed dismantling coincides with an ongoing federal effort to separate Google's Chrome browser from its dominant search engine. The US government's latest proposal was filed in a Virginia federal court two-and-a-half weeks after a federal judge ruled that its lucrative digital ad network has been improperly abusing its market power to stifle competition to the detriment of online publishers. In a 17-page filing, Justice Department lawyers argued that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema should punish Google by ordering the company to offload its AdX business and DFP ad platform, tools that bring together advertisers, who want to market their products, and publishers, who want to sell commercial space on their sites, to bring in revenue. The US government is also seeking other restrictions, including a 10-year ban on Google from operating a digital ad exchange, to undercut the power of a 'recidivist monopolist.' Not surprisingly, it's an idea that Google vehemently plans to oppose when the penalty phase of the antitrust case —known as remedy hearings — begins in late September. Google already has vowed to appeal Brinkema's ruling that the technology powering the ad network has been breaking the law, but can't do that until the judge rules on its punishment in a decision expected late this year or early next year. The Justice Department's proposal 'would cause economic chaos and technological dysfunction resulting in harm to millions of advertisers and publishers, and in so doing, degrade the experience of internet users,' Google said in a court filing late Monday. In its counterproposal, Google outlined a plan that it believes will bring more transparency to its ad network and eventually foster more competition. Google proposed the appointment of a trustee to oversee its behaviour for three years. The attempt to tear down Google's ad network comes on top of the Justice Department's ongoing effort to have the company part with its popular Chrome browser and impose other restrictions to curtail the power of its ubiquitous search engine, which another federal judge branded an illegal monopoly in a ruling last August. The remedy hearings in the search case are scheduled to conclude later this month, with a ruling from US District Judge Amit Mehta expected by Labor Day. If the Justice Department is able to persuade the two different judges to order its proposed dismantling of Google, it would be the biggest breakup of a US company since AT&T was forced to spin off its phone service into seven separate regional companies more than 40 years ago. Google's Play Store for apps running on its Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones was also declared an illegal monopoly by a federal jury in 2023 and is battling a judge's order that would require it to overhaul a commission system that generates billions of dollars in annual revenue. But hobbling its search engine and digital ad network would be far bigger blows because they are the key cogs in a business that generated US$265 billion in revenue last year. Google is confronting the breakup threats at the same time the advent of artificial intelligence is changing the way consumers are using technology and seeking information online — a shift that could also siphon traffic and money away from a powerhouse that began in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Despite the adversity, Google is still delivering robust financial growth to its corporate parent Alphabet Inc., which is currently valued at US$2 trillion. Alphabet's share dipped by less than 1% on Tuesday to close at US$163.20.
Ammon
07-05-2025
- Business
- Ammon
U.S. seeks breakup of Google's ad-tech products after judge finds illegal monopoly
Ammon News - The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed that Google sell its AdX digital ad marketplace and DFP platform for managing and delivering ads on websites, after a federal judge found the company illegally dominated two online ad-tech markets. The proposed remedies, including divestitures, are necessary to end the Alphabet-owned tech giant's monopolies and restore competition in the ad-exchange and publisher ad-server markets, the DOJ said in a court filing late on Monday. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia last month found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in those two markets. The ruling was another blow for Google after a separate judge found last year that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. Brinkema set a September trial date on Friday, after hearing from Google and the DOJ on potential remedies for the company's dominance in ad tools used by online publishers. Google has said the company supported behavioural remedies such as making real-time bids available to competitors, but that prosecutors cannot legally pursue a bid to force it to sell parts of its business. "The DOJ's additional proposals to force a divestiture of our ad tech tools go well beyond the Court's findings, have no basis in law, and would harm publishers and advertisers," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said in a statement to Reuters. Shares of Alphabet were down nearly 1.1% in premarket trading on Tuesday. AdX, or Ad Exchange, is a marketplace where publishers can make their unsold ad space available to advertisers for purchase on a real-time basis. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their digital ad inventory. Along with ad exchanges, the technology lets news publishers and other online content providers make money by selling ads.
