Google Found Guilty of Antitrust Violations in Ad Tech Case, Shares Drop

A federal judge ruled that Google illegally maintained monopoly power in key online advertising technology markets, delivering a second major legal blow to the tech giant in less than a year. Alphabet shares fell as much as 1.8% following the announcement.

Judge Leonie Brinkema determined that Google "willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power" in publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising. The ruling found that Google's 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick helped establish its dominance on both sides of the advertising technology ecosystem.

While the court ruled against Google in two markets, it dismissed claims that the company monopolized a third market for tools used by advertisers to buy display ads. The judge stated that Google's exclusionary conduct "substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web."

"Google is now an illegal monopolist twice over," said Jonathan Kanter, the Justice Department antitrust chief under former President Joe Biden, referencing the previous ruling in August that found Google had monopolized the online search market.

This latest decision increases the likelihood of substantial restructuring at Google. The company may be forced to dismantle much of its ad tech business, which dominates both how advertisers buy ads on independent websites and how web publishers sell their ad space. In the previous search monopoly case, the Justice Department is seeking to force Alphabet to sell off its Chrome browser.

The ruling benefited competitors in the ad tech space, with stocks for Trade Desk Inc. gaining as much as 7.7%, Magnite Inc. up 14%, and PubMatic Inc. rising 12%.

Judge Brinkema will set separate court proceedings to determine potential remedies. These antitrust cases against Google are part of a broader regulatory push to rein in major tech companies, with Apple, Amazon, and Meta also facing significant legal challenges.

Alphabet (D1)

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