Nine additional states joined in the U.S. Department of Justice's civil antitrust lawsuit against Google.
The original suit was filed in January with support from eight states, according to a Jan. 23 news release. The DOJ alleges Google has engaged in anti-competitive behavior, including exclusionary agreements with other companies, control over ad servers and tools and manipulation of the ad auction process, giving it an unfair advantage over competitors. The lawsuit aims to restore competition in the digital advertising industry and prevent Google from engaging in such behavior in the future.
"We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state law enforcement partners to end Google's long-running monopoly in digital advertising technology markets," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, said in an April 17 news release announcing the additional state support.
These new states are Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington and West Virginia, according to the April news release. The original eight states backing the DOJ's suit were California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia.
According to an April 13 Reuters article, Google is seeking to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit filed by the DOJ, claiming it failed to demonstrate any harm to competition. The hearing for Google's request is set for May 20 and could impact the future of digital advertising competition in the U.S.
Google has systematically taken control of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, inserting itself into all aspects of the digital advertising marketplace and using unlawful means to eliminate any threat to its dominance, according to the January release. As a result, Google is the only significant player in the ad tech space.
“No matter the industry and no matter the company, the Justice Department will vigorously enforce our antitrust laws to protect consumers, safeguard competition, and ensure economic fairness and opportunity for all," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the January release.
The suit calls for action to restore competition in the industry and prevent Google from engaging in such behavior in the future, according to the DOJ news release.
