US Dept of Justice claims Google has 'corrupted the legitimate competition in ad tech by engaging in a systemic campaign to seize controls'

In the modern Internet, it's a reality that content providers are heavily reliant on advertising to fund their creation and hosting of the material we all see on a daily bases. Google is the leader in this multi-billion dollar technology industry. Google's dominance is so great that the US Department of Justice has claimed that Google "used anticompetitive and exclusionary means to eliminate or significantly diminish any threat to their dominance."

Ars Technica reported that the antitrust trial had only just begun, but it was already a firecracker. The DoJ and the witnesses who were brought into the case did not hold back in their criticisms and accusations against Google's apparent behaviour of monopolistic behavior.

In the complaint (pdf warning), the DoJ filed against Google, they claim that the digital display advertising generates more than 20 billion dollars in revenue annually for publishers in the US. This is due to the fact that over 13 billion ads are displayed online every day. The DoJ claims that Google is responsible for managing all of this, which requires a complex technology (informally referred to as 'adtech').

The DoJ's complaint states that "[C]ompetition is broken in the ad-tech space, for reasons which were neither accidental nor inevitable." Google, a behemoth in the industry, has corrupted the legitimate competition in the ad-tech industry by launching a systematic campaign in order to gain control of the high-tech tools that are used by publishers, brokers, and advertisers to facilitate digital advertising.

"Google has used anticompetitive and illegal means to eliminate or significantly reduce any threat to its dominance in digital advertising technologies."

This is a damning accusation that's not veiled in ambiguous words. The DoJ's anger is directed at the Google Ad Manager platform which was created from the acquisition of two ad-tech companies (DoubleClick & AdX) in 2008 for a hefty $3.1 billion. According to Ars Technica, the Federal Trade Commission investigated Google's purchase and approved it. They found that it would not reduce competition in ad tech.

I think it is fair to say that the market has changed significantly in the 16-year period since Google acquired the two companies. The DoJ claims "Google has used its power to dictate how digital ads are sold and the terms on which its competitors can compete."

The Department of Justice wants Google court-ordered into spinning or selling off Google Ad Manager. This would be difficult to achieve, especially since the platform is of much less value than Google’s entire ad technology business. I can't believe it would be ordered by a court to sell but you never know.

It's worth watching the proceedings, regardless of the outcome. I have no doubt that Google's position on the digital advertising market will be significantly altered, if not at all. Get that small mountain of popcorn now.