DOJ Preparing Google Ad Technology Suit

According to Politico, the Justice Department (DOJ) is preparing another proceeding against Google, which may occur before DOJ’s antitrust candidate Jonathan Kanter is identified.

The DOJ has been expediting its investigation of Google’s practices and might end up filing a lawsuit by the end of 2021, according to the report.

The DOJ has been looking into Google’s wide influence over the ad tech market since the President Donald Trump administration was in power, and the DOJ, then under the power of Attorney General William Barr, sued Google over its search business instead. Barr’s DOJ claimed Google has been locking out competition for the search business via exclusive distribution deals with wireless carriers and phone makers to lock out competition, the report stated.

In addition, there was a second case by several state attorneys general, led by Texas, alleging that Google has illegally monopolized the digital advertising market, reaching an agreement with Facebook in order to manipulate online auctions where advertisers and web publishers buy and sell ad space, according to the report.

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