A federal judge in New York has ruled in favor of online news publishers and advertisers who say Google illegally monopolized the digital advertising market and diverted revenue that should have gone to its news operations.
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel granted partial summary judgment to Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain and owner of USA TODAY, the Daily Mail, and the digital media company Inform, holding Google liable for illegally monopolizing its advertising technology business.
In a complaint filed in 2023, Gannett and other plaintiffs accused Google of abusing its dominant position in controlling and profiting from the technology publishers use to buy and sell ads on the internet, in violation of federal antitrust laws.
In his ruling, Castel pointed to the outcome of the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google in northern Virginia earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in April that Google acted illegally to maintain its monopoly over some of the automated systems that place ads on the Internet, allowing it to command higher prices and collect a larger share of each sale.
In the lawsuit, the Justice Department accused Google of eliminating competitors and “corrupting” the digital advertising market, which is worth more than $200 billion in the United States. During the trial, the Justice Department called witnesses who worked for the publisher, including Gannett.
“Judge Brinkema’s findings of fact and conclusions of law are precise and concise,” Castel wrote.
Gannett CEO and Chairman Mike Reed hailed the ruling as a “major development in the broader antitrust fight” against Google.
In addition to USA TODAY, Gannett publishes more than 200 daily newspapers across the United States. Google is facing a series of antitrust lawsuits, including one from publishers accusing it of monopolizing the digital advertising market at the expense of local news operations.
“This is an important legal victory for Gannett and a good day for competition,” Reed said in a statement.
Google did not respond to a request for comment. At the time the complaint was filed, Google told USA TODAY that publishers like Gannett use dozens of competing services to advertise.
“When publishers choose to use Google’s tools, they get the lion’s share of the revenue,” Dan Taylor, vice president of Google Ads, said in a statement in 2023. “We will prove in court how our advertising products benefit publishers and help them fund their online content.”
Spencer Weber Waller, a professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, said the judge’s ruling was a significant setback for Google.
“Some of the key aspects of their case have been finalized in previous government cases and are not litigated and are considered true in this case. This is huge because media companies don’t have to submit further evidence about what their markets are, whether Google has monopoly power in some of those markets, and whether the court knows whether certain acts of Google’s conduct violate the law,” said Waller, director of the Consumer Antitrust Research Institute.
Waller said that when Gannett and the other plaintiffs seek damages, they will need to show that Google’s actions caused the harm and a fair estimate of that damage.
“However, the trial will be shorter and many important issues have already been established against Google,” he said. “It’s like starting the 10th inning with a runner on second base. You’re half way home.”
Even if newspapers recover damages, they still face industry headwinds, said Brian Wieser, CEO of Madison & Wall, an advisory firm for ad-supported media, technology retail and other businesses.
“Consumers need to get used to paying for good journalism. This has been true for some time and is even more true now. Traditional newspaper advertising-supported Internet properties will continue to face challenges,” Wieser said.
