Washington, D.C. – The American Economic Liberties released the following statement in support of new legislation introduced by Senators Mike Lee, Amy Klobuchar, Ted Cruz, and Richard Blumenthal to break up and regulate Google’s advertising technology business.

“The basic idea of this bill is simple: no one can serve two masters,” said Matt Stoller, Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project. “As the buyer, seller, broker, and exchange, Google maintains pervasive conflicts of interest in online advertising that it uses to manipulate markets. By breaking up Google’s third-party ad tech business and requiring advertising intermediaries to disclose the prices and quality of the advertising they are buying and selling, this bill will finally allow honest price discovery in markets for online advertising.”

“No one would accept Goldman Sachs running the New York Stock Exchange, representing buyers of stock, and sellers of stock at the same time, just as no one would accept a lawyer representing both sides in a trial. Neither should Congress let corporations run all sides of a transaction in online ad markets,” added Stoller.

To learn more about Google’s monopolization of online advertising markets, read “Addressing Facebook and Google’s Harms Through a Regulated Competition Approach.”

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.