The Department of Justice (DoJ) is set to sue Google for its alleged dominance over the digital advertising market, adding to the search giant’s mounting troubles. According to a report by Bloomberg, citing people aware of the matter, the lawsuit is expected to be filed in US federal court as early as Tuesday. This would be the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google in the US, with the first one, filed in 2020, focusing on the company’s monopoly in search.
The new lawsuit is expected to target Google’s advertising business, which generates around 80% of its revenue. The company makes money through its interlocking ad tech businesses, which connect advertisers with newspapers, websites, and other firms looking to host them. Advertisers and website publishers have complained that Google has not been transparent about how ad dollars are distributed, specifically how much goes to publishers and how much goes to Google.
Google has made a series of purchases, including DoubleClick in 2008 and AdMob in 2009, to become a dominant player in the online advertising market. However, the company has previously argued that the ad tech ecosystem is competitive with companies such as Facebook, AT&T, and Comcast.
This lawsuit comes at a time when Google is already facing scrutiny from antitrust regulators around the globe, with several investigations underway in Europe, India, and Australia. The upcoming lawsuit by the DoJ could deal another blow to the company, adding to its mounting troubles and potentially leading to significant changes in its operations.
Google Layoffs
Google laid off 6 per cent of its total employees last week. This accounts for the job losses of 12,000 employees of the search giant. The company has claimed that it had to take these steps in order to keep the situation from getting worse. Google will also realign its efforts in the field of AI the likes OpenAI’s ChatGPT are gaining prominence.
With Agency Inputs
Also read: ‘Decisions I needed to make’: Sundar Pichai reveals reason behind massive Google layoffs
