Texas Beats Google’s Push to Toss Out Ad Tech Antitrust Suit
(Bloomberg) -- An antitrust suit by state attorneys general accusing Alphabet Inc.’s Google of monopolizing the technology underlying online advertising can move forward, a New York federal judge ruled.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Business Class for $20,000 Means Staff Fly Coach or Not at All
Biden Says He Warned Xi of Investment Chill If China Backs Putin
Judge P. Kevin Castel said Tuesday the bulk of the states’ antitrust lawsuit can proceed, though he dismissed one claim against the search giant. Google sought to dismiss the case, arguing that all of the conduct that the states target is legal.
Attorneys general for 16 states plus Puerto Rico sued Google in 2020 for monopolizing the advertising technology market. The states, led by Texas, alleged that Google entered into a secret deal, nicknamed Jedi Blue, to give Meta Platforms Inc. advantages on the exchange it runs to buy and sell online ads. In exchange, the social media company abandoned plans to adopt a new type of technology that would have undercut Google’s online advertising monopoly.
Castel dismissed that claim, saying “there is nothing inexplicable or suspicious” about what led the companies to enter into the agreement.
The states also alleged that Google manipulated the auctions held on its exchange in ways designed to ensure its own products nearly always won.
The case is In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, 21-md-03010, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
The Global Race to Hike Rates Tilts Economies Toward Recession
The Biggest Copper Mine in the US Stalled in Dispute Over Sacred Ground
It’s White-Collar Jobs That Are at Risk in the Next Recession
Chinese Manufacturers Get Around US Tariffs With Some Help From Mexico
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
