Gannett is suing Google and its parent company Alphabet, claiming they illegally acquired and maintained a monopoly on advertising technology tools that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell advertising space online.
ByMichelle Chapman AP business writer
FILE – In this July 14, 2010 file photo, a sign is displayed for Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va. Gannett has filed a civil lawsuit on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, against Google and its parent company Alphabet, claiming they illegally hold a monopoly. Among the advertising technology tools that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell advertising space online. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
The Associated Press
Gannett has filed a civil lawsuit against Google and its parent company Alphabet, claiming they hold illegal monopolies in advertising technology tools that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell advertising space online.
The largest US newspaper publisher by total daily circulation alleged in the lawsuit that Google controls how the publishers sell their advertising slots and forces them to sell increasing amounts of advertising space to Google at lower prices. This in turn means less revenue for publishers and Google’s ad-tech rivals and more money for Google.
In January the Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, seeking to break up its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a harmful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the US government. Was doing. The lawsuit accused the company of illegally monopolizing the way ads were served online, driving out competitors.
The European Union will launch an antitrust probe into Google’s digital advertising dominance in 2021. And last week EU regulators hit Google with new antitrust charges, saying the only way to satisfy competition concerns about its lucrative digital advertising business was to sell parts of the tech giant. The main moneylender.
The unprecedented decision to push for such a breakup marks a significant escalation by Brussels in its crackdown on the Silicon Valley digital giants, and similar moves by US authorities to bust Google’s alleged monopoly on the online advertising ecosystem follows.
In an opinion piece published Tuesday by Gannett-owned USA Today, Gannett CEO Mike Reed said the company wants to “restore fair competition in the digital advertising market that Google has destroyed.”
Reed claims that local news outlets are being harmed because of illegal bid-rigging practices used by Google.
“The core of the case and our position is that Google abuses its control over the ad server monopoly to make it increasingly difficult for rival exchanges to run competitive auctions,” Reid wrote.
“These claims are absolutely false. Publishers have many options to choose from when it comes to using ad technology for monetization – in fact, Gannett uses dozens of competing advertising services, including Google Ads Manager,” Dan Taylor, the vice president of Google Ads said in a written statement. “And when publishers choose to use Google tools, they keep most of the revenue. We will show the court how our advertising products benefit publishers and help them fund their content online.
Gannett’s lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks an unspecified amount of damages and injunctive relief. The Virginia company is demanding a trial by jury.
