The U.S. Department of Justice sues Google again! "Second Anti-Monopoly Case" goes to trial today, online advertising market may face major changes

Intelligent Finance APP noticed that on Monday local time, the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Google (GOOGL.US) for illegally monopolizing the digital advertising industry will also enter trial. The U.S. Department of Justice will attempt to prove that the company has suppressed competition in the online digital advertising technology sector, marking the search giant's second recent showdown with the Department of Justice. A month ago, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust laws, but has not yet decided what penalties to impose on Google and its parent company Alphabet. Prosecutors stated that Google dominates the technology infrastructure that provides funding for website news and information flows by selling over 150,000 online ads per second. This case is an important example of U.S. antitrust enforcers challenging the monopolistic practices of large tech companies, spanning the administrations of both Trump and Biden. Prosecutors stated that Google engaged in a complex scheme to dominate website advertising tools through acquisitions, restricting how customers use its tools, and allegedly manipulating ad auctions. Google has denied these allegations, stating that they misrepresent Google's legitimate efforts to develop technology and serve its customers. Google argued that prosecutors overlooked how the digital advertising market is shifting towards applications and connected TVs, where Google faces fierce competition. If U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema determines that Google has violated the law, she will then consider the prosecutor's request for Google to at least divest the Google Ad Manager (GAM), which includes Google's publisher ad server and ad exchange platform. According to Wedbush, an investment bank, Google's ad tech tools contributed $20 billion in revenue in 2020, accounting for 11% of the company's total revenue, with an operating profit of approximately $1 billion, representing 2.6%. Wedbush's research and analysis of court documents show that in 2020, the ad management suite accounted for 4.1% of revenue and 1.5% of operating profit. Recent data has been redacted from court documents. Google's defense team is led by Karen Dunn, a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, who has previously guided several prominent Democratic figures, including Vice President Harris, in debate preparation. The government's legal team is led by senior litigator Julia Tarver Wood, who joined the Department of Justice last year. She previously worked at Paul, Weiss, representing companies such as insurance giant American International Group, Mastercard, and Amazon. This trial, expected to last several weeks, is anticipated to feature witnesses from Google, competitors in the digital advertising sector (such as Trade Desk and Comcast), as well as publishers like News Corp and Gannett. Prosecutors claim that these publishers have been harmed by Google's actions. This case is one of several challenging the monopolistic practices of large tech companies. Last month, the Department of Justice won a ruling against Google in another case regarding Google's dominant position in online search, and is separately suing Apple. The Federal Trade Commission is also suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Amazon