As the ‘trial of the century’ approaches, what impact could Google vs the US Department of Justice have on the ad tech industry?

In recent years, Google has faced mounting scrutiny over its alleged anticompetitive practices. This is now coming to a head, as the 'biggest event of the year' sees Google vs the United States take centre stage. So what could the outcomes for the industry be?

The case

Per ExchangeWire’s Mat Broughton “Essentially, the DOJ’s case alleges that Google, via a host of acquisitions and subsequent manipulative self-preferencing actions, forced as many transactions as possible through its own ad tech stack, to the detriment of players across the entire digital advertising supply chain.”

The allegations against Google have sparked debates among industry professionals, with some predicting a major impact on the internet advertising landscape.

The Potential Breakup of Google

The allegations against Google have sparked debates among industry professionals, with some predicting a major impact on the internet advertising landscape. On August 5th 2024, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled, in a separate case on Google’s search business, that the company acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on search and related advertising. In his ruling, Mehta wrote: “After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”

One of the possible sanctions the US government is considering following this ruling is a break-up of the tech giant, which could have significant implications for the advertising industry. The potential breakup of Google is a trending topic in the marketing industry, with comparisons drawn to Microsoft’s past antitrust battles. The outcome of the trial could lead to concessions from Google or a deal with antitrust authorities.

The latest case will surely only add grist to the break-up mill if it too goes against Google.

Recent developments

In a surprising turn of events, the Department of Justice has accused Google of deleting messages related to the ad tech antitrust trial, potentially favoring the DOJ in the case. Judge Brinkema is considering a motion for an adverse inference, adding another layer of complexity to the trial.

On August 19th, the DOJ filed its proposed findings of law in the case, alleging that Google has illegally maintained a monopoly across open web advertising, in each of the publisher ad server, ad exchange, and advertiser ad network markets. Google’s riposte was largely as expected, in that it argues that its actions were actually pro-competitive and that competition across the ad tech landscape is in a healthy state.

Yelp recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of maintaining a monopoly in local search services by favoring its own vertical over competitors. This move highlights the ongoing battle between tech giants and smaller players in the digital ecosystem. Google has denied the claims, but the legal battle is far from over.

What does it mean for the industry?

The impending antitrust trial against Google represents a pivotal moment in the digital advertising, with significant repercussions on all sides.

“If the case goes against Google, there’ll be celebrations across the industry. As the ecosystem opens up, independent ad tech will benefit massively as avenues that were previously blocked off start to open up again. 

One segment of adtech that could be reawakened is ad servers, a sector that had been all but killed off by GAM could find itself back in demand if the Google ad tech stack is broken up.”

Ciaran O’Kane, CSO, ExchangeWire

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Could these rulings hasten the break-up of Google? Our expert panel at ATS London 2024 on Wednesday 11th September will discuss the issue in depth. Final tickets available now.