The U.S. government has accused Google of unfairly dominating online advertising and stifling competition in a landmark legal case. The Department of Justice alleged the tech giant controls the market for publishing ads on websites and has used monopolistic practices. That means Google can charge higher prices to advertisers and send less revenue to publishers such as news websites. DOJ attorney Julia Tarver Wood explained that Google extracts for itself a whopping 37% of every advertising dollar and “played Whac-a-Mole as it crushed competitors.” Google’s defense team told the court that the DOJ’s estimates of its market share were not commercially realistic and were out of date, refuting suggestions of anti-competitiveness. The antitrust case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema without a jury. The trial is expected to last at least 6 weeks and call dozens of witnesses. This comes on the heel of a separate case in Washington, DC, last month in which a judge found Google’s search business to be an illegal monopoly.
