Small Business Advertisers Sue Google For Antitrust Violations

Several independent advertisers on Monday, June 22, filed a class action accusing Google of creating a monopoly in digital advertising and suing the tech company for antitrust violations under the Sherman Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law.

Plaintiffs Michael Devaney, Nicholas Arrieta, and Sara Yberra, acting on behalf of themselves and others, accuse Google and Alphabet of creating an illegal monopoly by eliminating competition in the display advertising ad-tech stack through acquisition of competitors, exclusivity provisions, interoperability and compatibility design choices, and development of its analytics services.

The plaintiffs — who bought digital ads through Google for their businesses, which include a photography business, a moving business, and an online store for bicycling hardware — separately purchased digital ads from Google. They claim to have overpaid for the ads and suffered financial loss, and that Google “wrongfully acquired and unlawfully maintained monopoly power in the relevant markets.”

From the purchase of the DoubleClick ad server to AdMob, which serves ads in apps, to the AdMeld supply-side platform, Google has developed or bought its way into the advertising business to capitalize on consumer searches and advertisements served on publisher sites.

“With its ability to track millions of users across millions of sites and apps, other publishers cannot compete with Google’s informational advantage,” according to Law Street Media, and the court document filed on Monday.

Full Content: Law Street Media

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