Google Sued by U.S. Department of Justice for Monopolizing Digital Advertising Technologies

[Tsing]

The U.S. Department of Justice continues to show that it is no real fan of Google. In what appears to be the fifth lawsuit against the company since 2020, the agency announced this week that it would be suing the search giant yet again, this time for what is alleged to be subverting competitors in the lucrative business of online advertising through acquisitions, manipulation, and other means. According to the agency's findings, Google has been doing this for 15 years, capitalizing in ways that include pocketing more than 30% of the advertising dollars that flow through its products.

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[Grimlakin]

Ok I read the article... so google is getting sued for doing what gas companies have been doing for literally DECADES?!

Anyone else think google is getting sued because they didn't line the pockets of those in power enough? That's sure what it feels like to me. In this case it's their "Don't Be Evil" policy that is leading to these lawsuits.

 

[Brian_B]

Hmm there is one key difference I can think of here between this suit, and say, the Apple App Store

Both essentially connect a third party seller with a consumer at their heart. Both take a cut as a middleman between those transactions.

The big difference is in the App Store model - the customer gets to chose what they buy and when they buy it.

With Google - neither the streamer or web site owner, nor the ad sponsor who is paying for the ad, nor the content creator who is getting paid to show the ad, nor the consumer who is the one generating the energy for the process — get to decide. Google controls all of that with various products and opaque algorithms.