Is Google a monopoly? US DoJ begins second antitrust trial, this time targeting ad tech

A previous US antitrust lawsuit targeted Google’s search business, with an 8-month-long trial ending in defeat for the company. In August, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the tech giant had engaged in anticompetitive behavior to protect its dominance, saying, “Google is a monopolist, and has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” The penalties resulting from the ruling are as yet unclear.

‘Restoring competition’ to the internet

In the trial that began Monday, the DoJ will make its case that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, controls the majority of tools and technologies in the ad tech space.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by the DoJ and a coalition of eight states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia — and seeks to “restore competition” and obtain “equitable and monetary relief” for the American public.