The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and eight states in the U.S. have reportedly filed a lawsuit against the tech giant Google, arguing that it has undue dominance in the online advertising industry.

According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the company’s anti-competitive practices have weakened, and apparently not killed the competition in the ad tech sector.

In response, Google blamed the justice department for doubling down on a flawed argument.

As claimed by the corporation, the lawsuit attempted to choose winners and losers in a cutthroat market.

Reportedly, Google generates majority of its billion-dollar revenue from online advertising.

According to market research firm Insider Intelligence, Google is the industry leader, however, its share of all U.S. digital ad revenue has dropped from 36.7% in 2016 to 28.8% in 2022.

Garland stated that as a result of Google's approach, website authors earn less while advertisers spend more.

Less publishers might offer content without subscriptions, paywalls, or any other kinds of monetization as a result.

Jonathan Kanter, an assistant attorney general, claimed that the company's actions over a 15-year period had impacted in displacing competitors, reducing competition, raising advertising costs, stifling innovation, decreasing website publisher revenues, as well as flattening the open marketplace of ideas.

The nearly 150-page lawsuit alleges violations of US antitrust law against Google and calls for halting Google's anti-competitive plan, unwinding Google's dominant grip on the industry, and restoring competition to the online ads market.

Apparently, the firm's ad business might be dissolved if the courts rule in favor of the U.S government. The DOJ's complaint requests that the court order Google sell off a portion of its advertising business.

As per sources, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Colorado, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, and Tennessee are among the U.S. states that have joined the lawsuit.

This current complaint comes after a 2020 lawsuit brought against the tech giant given its monopoly in search during the Trump administration.

Source credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64393868