10 States Accuse Google of Monopoly in Online Ads

Ten state attorneys general on Wednesday accused Google of illegally abusing its monopoly over the technology that delivers ads online, adding to the company’s legal troubles with a case that strikes at the heart of its business, according to The NY Times.

The state prosecutors said that Google overcharged publishers for the ads it showed across the web and edged out rivals who tried to challenge the company’s dominance. They also said that Google had reached an agreement with Facebook to limit the social network’s own efforts to compete with Google for ad dollars. Google said the suit was “baseless” and that it would fight the case.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, adds to the fierce bipartisan backlash against one of the country’s biggest tech companies. Regulators in the United States and Europe have focused on the outsize role Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google play in the modern economy, shaping everything from how we shop to what information and entertainment we see.

In October, the Justice Department and 11 states said Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over online search engines and the ads that appear in users’ results. An additional case against Google, brought by a separate set of states, is expected soon. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states accused Facebook of illegally crushing competition by acquiring younger rivals, and argued that the company should be broken up. Apple and Amazon are both under federal antitrust investigations, too.

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday is the first by regulators in the United States to focus on the tools that connect buyers of advertising space with publishers who sell it. Advertisements generate a vast majority of the company’s profits. The Justice Department has its own antitrust inquiry into advertising technology, said a person with knowledge of the investigation.

The prosecutors asked for monetary penalties and structural changes at the company, but they did not add specifics.