Google to Face Monopoly Suit Over Digital Advertisement Business by US Justice Department: Report

Google was sued in October by the US Department of Justice for illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals.

By Reuters | Updated: 2 September 2021 14:09 IST

Google to Face Monopoly Suit Over Digital Advertisement Business by US Justice Department: Report

A lawsuit by 38 US states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power

Highlights

Google said advertising technologies help websites fund their content
Google plans to block a popular Web tracking tool called "cookies"
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment

The US Justice Department is readying a second monopoly lawsuit against Alphabet-owned Google over the Internet search giant's digital advertising business, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 73,06,040 crores) company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial was set for September 2023.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

Asked about the report, Google responded in an email that its "advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, enable small businesses to grow, and protect users from exploitative privacy practices and bad ad experiences."

A lawsuit by 38 US states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power in an effort to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.

Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business.

Google Faces Antitrust Lawsuit From US Justice Department

Reuters reported in March that Google's plan to block a popular Web tracking tool called "cookies" concerns US Justice Department investigators who have been asking ad industry executives whether that would hobble smaller rivals, citing people familiar with the situation.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Realme is retiring its “X” series. We discussed the new Realme GT 5G and GT Master Edition on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.