Elain Brown Tech 08.10.2022 05:Aug AM EDT

US Department of Justice Is Preparing To Sue Google For Ad Dominance in the Market

The Department of Justice is preparing to sue Google for its dominance in the ad market.

There is a possibility that the United States DOJ will soon bring a second antitrust lawsuit against Google.

After a year of investigating whether the tech giant has been abusing its dominant position to illegally monopolize the digital ad industry, it has now been revealed that the Department of Justice is getting ready to file a lawsuit against the company as soon as September.

Google Lawsuit

Google's upcoming lawsuit from a government agency has revealed that preparations for this complaint regarding technological advertising have been going on for the past year.

This legal action to hold the tech giant accountable for its actions closes off years of work to create a case that the company illegally dominates the digital advertising market.

In yet another round of interviews, attorneys from the DOJ's Antitrust Division are questioning publishers with the goal of refreshing data and gleaning additional details for the complaint.

Some of the interviews that will be used during the legal battle have already been conducted, while others are set to take place in the weeks to come. They build upon earlier interrogations that were carried out at an earlier stage of the ongoing inquiry.

The government sued Google in 2020, claiming that the tech giant monopolized the online search industry in violation of antitrust rules. This is the DOJ's second complaint against Google since that time.

According to Engadget, the agency said that mandating Android phone manufacturers to use Google as the default search engine inhibits competitors from gaining a foothold and ensures the firm earns a large amount of money from search-related advertising.

Engadget stated, "In the same year, Texas filed a multi-state lawsuit against Google, with the state's Attorney General accusing the company of using its "monopolistic power to control" ad pricing."

DOJ Against Google and Tech Companies

As Bloomberg reports, after over a decade in which authorities took little to no action, the Department of Justice has begun an investigation into the advertising technology industry as part of its effort to rein in the major technology platforms in the United States.

In line with that commitment, the Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. in an effort to compel the company to divest itself of Instagram and WhatsApp, and it is conducting an investigation into Amazon.com Inc. about the company's dominance in the online retail industry.

Furthermore, prosecutors have not yet made a decision regarding whether they will file the lawsuit in the federal court in Washington, which is where the search case is currently being heard.

Another option they are looking into is New York, which is where the state attorneys general have their own antitrust case linked to Google's ad tech company.

The government agency has not yet officially filed the case. However, Peter Schottenfels, Google's spokesperson, stated, "Our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world."

"The enormous competition in online advertising has made online ads more relevant, reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers," Schottenfels adds.