The US Department of Justice is set to launch an antitrust suit against Google, after a years-long investigation into its monopoly over the online advertising market.
Google attempted to bargain its way out of this suit, offering to spin its advertising business into a separate conglomerate, under the parent company Alphabet.
This offer was rejected, and the suit looks likely to go to court next month, according to Bloomberg.
There is a similar antitrust suit currently being brought against Google by a coalition of state attorneys general, filed in Texas.
Online advertising brought in A$44.74 billion for Google in 2021, so the ramifications of these suits could be costly for the search giant.
“Our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world,” Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said.
“The enormous competition in online advertising has made online ads more relevant, reduced ad tech fees and expanded options for publishers and advertisers.”
The Justice Department also brought a separate antitrust suit against the company in 2020 for forcing Android phone manufacturers to set Google as the default search engine.
This suit is still playing out in the courts, and accuses Google of “unlawfully maintaining monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States.”
Justice Department official Doha Mekki warned this is just the beginning.
“You’re going to see a lot more litigation from the antitrust division,” Mekki said in April.
“The division’s position is we are not planning to take settlements. Settlements suggest compromise.”
