Report: DOJ to File Antitrust Suit Against Google for Ads

A new report from Bloomberg claims that the U.S. Department of Justice will sue Google for antitrust violations related to its advertising business.

The report cites three sources and notes that the DOJ suit could happen as soon as September, pending a review of whether the agency needs to engage in another round of interviews with the companies that have been victimized by Google’s business practices. This is the second DOJ antitrust case against Google: in 2020, it sued the online giant for violating antitrust laws with its search engine, along with 11 U.S. states.

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“Our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and [they] enable small businesses to reach customers around the world,” a Google spokesperson told Bloomberg. “The enormous competition in online advertising has made online ads more relevant, reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers.”

As you may recall, Google tried an end-run around this lawsuit in June when it offered to split off its advertising business as a separate company under the Alphabet umbrella. But that wouldn’t solve the problem, of course, it would simply change how Alphabet records its revenues.

And Google makes a lot of money from advertising: in Q2 2022, 81 percent of Google’s revenues, or $56.3 billion, came from advertising. Google wouldn’t even exist without it.

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