New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a significant legal victory after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled against Google for maintaining illegal monopolies in the digital advertising technology sector. This decision followed a lawsuit initiated by Attorney General James, alongside the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of 17 other attorneys general, in 2023. The lawsuit aimed to challenge Google's anticompetitive practices which, according to the prosecution, harm website publishers, advertisers, and consumers.
James emphasized, "Google’s monopolies allow it to soak up excessive profits, leaving less for the workers and businesses whose livelihoods depend on online advertising." She added that various content providers suffered financially due to Google's actions, which adversely affected the availability of free, high-quality online content.
The lawsuit filed in January 2023 alleged that Google leveraged its market influence to dominate nearly every segment of online ad transactions. This dominance allegedly enabled Google to charge advertisers higher fees while compensating publishers less for advertising space, creating financial challenges for websites and limiting free content availability for users.
Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google in violation of antitrust law concerning monopolies in publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising. Google was also held liable for unlawfully bundling its publisher ad server with its ad exchange, ultimately damaging competition, its customers, and Internet users by enforcing anticompetitive policies that decreased quality and increased costs.
A subsequent phase of the trial will focus on determining the appropriate remedies for Google's conduct.
The prosecution team comprised Attorney General James, the attorneys general of Virginia and California, DOJ, and their counterparts in 15 other states. New York's involvement was led by Assistant Attorney General Morgan J. Feder and Antitrust Bureau Chief Elinor Hoffmann, under the Department of Economic Justice's supervision by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.