DOJ TO TAKE ON GOOGLE

Ad biz antitrust suit

The Justice Department is reportedly planning to move forward in the next few weeks with an antitrust lawsuit targeting Google’s online ad sales juggernaut.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has made at least one settlement offer and volunteered concessions in recent days — but has failed to sway the DOJ’s antitrust division, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Google holds a massive share of the online ad sales market, generating $31.7 billion for Alphabet over the last year alone. The Justice Department is set to argue that Google’s business practices are anticompetitive.

The feds have been investigating allegations that Google has abused its market-leading position to maintain its dominance.

DOJ: not settling

Google has argued it faces intense competition from the likes of other tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook parent Meta.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Goggle’s concession offers, including one to spin off the part of its business that auctions and places ads on its digital properties as a separate Alphabet-run company.

Despite the pressure from regulators, a Google representative told Bloomberg the company has no plans to sell its ad tech business.

“We have been engaging constructively with regulators to address their concerns,” Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said in a statement. “As we’ve said before, we have no plans to sell or exit this business, and we’re deeply committed to providing value to a wide array of publisher and advertiser partners in a highly competitive sector.”

The DOJ declined to comment on Bloomberg’s report. Doha Mekki, the DOJ official expected to lead the legal maneuver, warned in April lawsuits were coming.

“You’re going to see a lot more litigation from the antitrust division,” Mekki said at an event. “The division’s position is we are not planning to take settlements. Settlements suggest compromise.”

The DOJ and Google didn’t respond to requests for further comment.

Google and other Big Tech firms have faced mounting pressure from the feds, including the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission, over allegedly anticompetitive and harmful business practices.

The DOJ previously sued Google in 2020, accusing it of holding “unlawful monopolies” in its online search and advertising businesses.