The Old Blog in the Desert

As Google expands its footprint in Storey County, its antitrust battle escalated as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) opened its case against the tech giant in a Virginia courtroom, accusing it of monopolizing the online advertising market.

Prosecutors claim that Google has dominated the infrastructure behind online ad sales, controlling more than 150,000 transactions every second. The trial, overseen by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, will determine if Google used its size and influence to eliminate competition and restrict customer options.

In her opening statement, DOJ attorney Julia Tarver Wood argued that Google used monopoly-building tactics by acquiring competitors, locking in customers, and controlling how transactions with the online ad market took place.

“Google is not here because they are big,” Wood said. “They are here because they used that size to crush competition.”

Google’s defense, led by attorney Karen Dunn, countered by saying that the DOJ’s case relies on outdated views of the industry. She pointed out that Google’s tools now work with competitors’ systems and that the company faces stiff competition from Amazon, Comcast, and others in the rapidly changing digital ad market. Dunn likened the DOJ’s case to a “time capsule” filled with relics like BlackBerries and Blockbuster cards, reflecting an earlier era.

The DOJ aims to show that Google’s control over the tools used by publishers and advertisers has stifled competition, leaving companies like Gannett and News Corp dependent on Google’s platform. Gannett executive Tim Wolfe testified that the company has been tied to Google’s ad server for over a decade with few alternatives. Similarly, former News Corp executive Stephanie Layser said her company was “held hostage” by Google, which controlled a significant portion of its ad transactions.

If the court rules against Google, the DOJ could demand the divestiture of Google Ad Manager, a platform that includes its publisher ad server and ad exchange. The trial comes amid a wave of antitrust cases against Big Tech, with the DOJ recently winning a separate ruling against Google in a search monopoly case and launching lawsuits against Apple.

The trial could last several weeks.