On Friday, a federal judge rejected a motion filed by Google parent Alphabet to throw out the government’s antitrust case against the company.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema that the case, which alleges Google is wielding monopolistic powers over the online advertising ecosystem can move forward in its entirety.
Her ruling is the second rejection google has endured in the federal court system in Alexandria. Previously, Google had attempted to see this case combined with a similar case which has been ongoing for years in New York, only to see that motion denied by Brinkema, who ruled that the case will continue in the Alexandria court.
The lawsuit by the government contends that Google maintains a monopolistic stranglehold on the online advertising sector, and that this is harmful to consumers. The complaint alleges the company, “corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising.”
Google argued the case should be dismissed, partly because the definition the government used of a monopoly was too narrow. The company’s lawyers argued that the presence of other online advertising platforms, such as Facebook’s, or TikTok’s platforms on social media offered advertisers other options for online advertising which was not under Google’s control.
In their filings Google’s lawyers drew parallels to a failed antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, a concert promoter which owns and runs its own outdoor amphitheaters.
Although the government claimed Live Nation maintained a monopoly on amphitheaters, the judge ruled that the government failed to prove a monopoly, because there were alternatives to an amphitheater, such as arenas and concert halls.
Brinkema noted a key issue in the case will be defining the exact market in which Google allegedly holds a monopoly. However at this stage, the judge ruled that the government had made a sufficient enough case to move the proceedings forward. At trial, however the burden of proof the government will need to meet will increase.
The government has been joined as plaintiff by a number of states, including Virginia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
