US Court Finds Google Holds Illegal Ad Tech Monopolies

The district court in Virginia decided that Google illegally dominates two online advertising markets. The judge stated that the company is liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges.

The court's decision opens new legal challenges for Google, as there has to be another hearing to determine what the company has to do to restore competition in those markets. One possible outcome is that the search giant would have to sell parts of its advertising business. This presents a serious legal challenge for Google after it received another court ruling that it holds an illegal monopoly in online search.

"Publisher ad servers are platforms websites use 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. Those funds are the lifeblood of the internet, " Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote. "In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web."

Google now faces the possibility of two courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. The company awaits a trial next week in Washington on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search. During three weeks of the trial last year, the DOJ and a coalition of states argued Google used classic monopoly-building tactics that involved eliminating competition through acquisitions, locking customers in using its products, and controlling how transactions occurred in the online ad market.