Washington, D.C. — Following news that a federal judge has found Google liable for illegally monopolizing key pieces of the online advertising marketplace—securing the Department of Justice Antitrust Division its second landmark antitrust trial win against Google in the last year, and marking the third time Google has been found to be an illegal monopolist since December 2023—the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“Case by case, antitrust enforcers are taming the beasts of Big Tech,” said Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Yet another monumental win in the history of antitrust enforcement, this case in particular is a win for journalists, publishers, online content creators and the distributed open web. We applaud Jonathan Kanter, Doha Mekki, and the last administration’s entire Antitrust Division, and expect nothing less than the rigorous pursuit of a remedy by the current administration.”

The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, along with a coalition of states, filed its lawsuit against Google in January 2023, targeting the corporation’s alleged monopolization of the digital advertising market. The DOJ alleged that Google’s dominance stems from a series of acquisitions, including its acquisition of the market-leading publisher ad server (called DoubleClick for Publishers) in 2008, and anti-competitive practices that have allowed it to control the entire ad tech ecosystem—effectively locking out rivals and forcing publishers and advertisers to use its services. One illustration of how Google’s multi-layered dominance has eliminated competition, an executive from a would-be rival ad exchange testified that his company experimented with cutting its fee for digital ads to zero percent on the auction in an attempt to cut into Google’s business—yet still failed to make a dent.

The trial was also characterized by internal documents in which Google employees recognize the company’s illegal monopoly or anticompetitive behavior. In one example, a Google executive said Google’s ownership across the adtech stack was analogous to ”if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE.” That core conflict of interest previews why the DOJ has signaled an intent to seek structural remedies to break that conflict if it prevails.

The trial followed the heels of the DOJ’s historic win in August 2024 in a separate antitrust case where another judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized online search. That case is currently in the remedies phase.

Find our trial coverage from “Big Tech on Trial” here.

Find our letter urging the California State Bar to hold Google attorney Kent Walker accountable for violating California’s Rules of Professional Conduct by coaching Google to hide and destroy evidence here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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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.