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OpenX Sues Google Over Alleged Antitrust Violations in Adtech

By  |  August 4, 2025

Supply-side advertising platform OpenX has taken legal action against Google, filing an antitrust lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of using its dominant position in the digital advertising ecosystem to suppress competition and harm rival businesses.

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    The suit, lodged Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleges that Google employed a variety of self-preferencing tactics that undermined OpenX’s ability to compete effectively. According to a statement included in the complaint, OpenX contends that Google’s practices have “stifled innovation, harmed competition, decreased product quality, and caused significant damage” not only to OpenX but also to publishers and advertisers who depend on fair access to ad markets.

    At the center of OpenX’s claims is Google’s requirement that publishers use its DoubleClick for Publishers ad server to access its ad exchange—a condition that, per the statement, essentially locked out competing ad tech providers. The lawsuit also argues that Google restricted access to its vast Google Ads network by funneling it solely through its own ad exchange, limiting options for publishers and advertisers alike.

    The legal complaint goes further, asserting that Google manipulated digital ad auctions in ways that disadvantaged competitors. Per a statement in the filing, OpenX alleges that Google altered auction mechanics to view competing bids and adjust its own in real time, ensuring its ad exchange frequently won out over rivals. This alleged practice, OpenX claims, resulted in an unlevel playing field that skewed the open market in Google’s favor.

    Read more: India Expands Probe into Google’s Online Advertising Practices

    According to OpenX, these behaviors forced the company to shutter its own ad server operations in 2019 and significantly hampered its remaining exchange business. “They really rigged digital advertising auctions to the disadvantage of all their competitors,” said OpenX CEO John Gentry in comments to ADWEEK. “The auction was simply not a fair auction.”

    The filing marks another chapter in the broader scrutiny facing Google’s advertising business. Less than four months ago, a federal judge ruled that Google operated an illegal monopoly in the realm of publisher ad servers and exchanges—a decision that OpenX sees as a potential tailwind for its own case.

    OpenX is seeking damages for the business harm it alleges Google caused, though it did not specify an amount. The company is also pursuing legal remedies that would prevent Google from continuing the alleged anticompetitive behaviors. Per a statement from Gentry, OpenX hopes the lawsuit results in “a judgment to stop these kinds of behaviors going forward.”

    Despite the legal action, OpenX noted in a blog post that it still collaborates with Google in several areas of its business, including partnerships involving Google Cloud, DV360, and Google Ad Manager. “We value these relationships where they support our operations and serve our customers,” the company stated.

    Source: AD Week