The U.S. government asked a federal judge on Friday to order the dismantling of Google’s online advertising operations, arguing that the giant company’s promised adjustments are insufficient and untrustworthy.
This request was submitted by government representatives at the conclusion of arguments related to the lawsuit concerning online advertising tools developed by Google and used by website publishers to sell their advertising space.
The Department of Justice, in conjunction with a number of U.S. states, accuses Google of monopolizing the online advertising market through “unlawful conduct and continuous evolution over a decade.”
According to these accusations, Google controls many key aspects of the market, especially the platforms where websites sell their advertising space and the platform where transactions take place, giving it significant control over advertising demand. The judge is expected to issue his decision in the coming months.
Gail Slater, Assistant Attorney General and the person in charge of the case, explained via the “X” platform: “We need to address this problem, and we believe the best solution is to dismantle Google’s monopoly, which will lead to the emergence of a new competitor.”
For its part, Google believes that this proposal is an abuse of power by the government and would destabilize the market, stressing that its tools achieve efficiency and innovation, and that separating the different activities is technically impossible.
This is the second antitrust lawsuit filed against the group, which is based in California, this year.
Last September, a judge rejected a similar request from the Department of Justice related to Google’s electronic search engine, where the government was seeking to separate it from the rest of the giant group’s activities.
These actions come as part of a broader government campaign aimed at restoring competition to the digital sector, but without much success so far.
The Google search engine generates the largest portion of its revenue from advertising. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, recorded an increase in its revenues for the third quarter of the year, reaching more than $102 billion, including about $35 billion in net income in the same quarter. (Al Jazeera Net)
