Home
Internet
Internet News
Google's Motion to Dismiss Advertising Antitrust Case Denied by US Judge

Google's Motion to Dismiss Advertising Antitrust Case Denied by US Judge

Google's motion is the company's latest effort to end costly, time-consuming antitrust lawsuits.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 April 2023 22:07 IST

The government has argued that Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite

Click Here to Add Gadgets360 As A Trusted Source

Highlights

The court said that the government's case was strong enough to go forward
Google has denied any wrongdoing
Google also asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss claims

A US federal judge on Friday denied Google's motion to dismiss a Department of Justice antitrust case focused on advertising technology, saying the government's case was strong enough to go forward.

The government, which filed the ad tech lawsuit in January, has argued that Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. Google has denied any wrongdoing.

"I'm going to deny the defendant's motion to dismiss," Judge Leonie Brinkema said in a federal court in Virginia. Google is a unit of Alphabet.

Google's motion is the company's latest effort to end costly, time-consuming antitrust lawsuits. It also asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss claims in a 2020 lawsuit filed by the government.

Arguing for Google, Eric Mahr said that the Justice Department failed to allege a high enough market share, 70 percent, to be able to say that Google had market power.

Brinkema, however, said that there were factors beyond market share to consider, for example if a company was guilty of "rapacious conduct."

Brinkema also took issue with Mahr's argument that the government had reviewed Google's deals to buy DoubleClick and Admeld, both more than 10 years ago, to increase its clout in ad tech, noting that the government said it made a mistake.

Mahr also argued that the Justice Department failed to show that advertisers suffered any damages because of Google's actions. He also said the government improperly excluded Facebook and others in its definition of the market, calling them "obvious substitutes."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite launched in India with a sub-Rs.20,000 price tag. How does it perform against the competition. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.