Google illegally dominated 2 markets for online ad tech: US court

Virginia/US: A US court found that Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology. Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, ruled on Thursday in an antitrust case in the US, Reuters reported.

According to the report, the ruling might allow prosecutors to argue for a breakup of Google’s advertising products, while the US Department of Justice said that the tech giant should have to sell off at least its Google Ad manager. This includes the company's publisher ad server and its ad exchange, it's learned.

According to Reuters, Google might face the possibility of two different US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices in 2025. This is because a judge in Washington will hold a trial in April on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

Reuters had reported in September that Google had mooted selling off its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators.

The Virginia judge Brinkema heard a three-week trial where the DOJ and a coalition of states sought to show Google monopolized markets for publisher ad servers and advertiser ad networks and tried to dominate the market for ad exchanges, which sit between buyers and sellers.

Prosecutors argued that Google used classic monopoly-building tactics of eliminating competitors through acquisitions, locking customers into using its products, and controlling how transactions occurred in the online ad market.

Meanwhile, Japanese officials accused Google of violating anti-monopoly laws on Tuesday after similar actions in the United States and Europe. Google Japan issued a statement calling the action "regrettable". It stated that it had made major investments in Japan to encourage innovation as a technology leader.