WASHINGTON :Alphabet Inc’s Google on Friday asked a federal court in Virginia to reject a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the advertising and search company of anticompetitive practices in the online advertising marketplace.
The government, which filed the ad tech lawsuit in January 2023 along with eight states, accused the company of abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business and argued that it should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. Google’s online advertising network, which includes ad manager, brought in 12 per cent of the company’s revenue in 2021.
Google argued the Justice Department’s case went “beyond the boundaries of antitrust law,” saying it does not prohibit the internet company’s conduct at issue.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google argued in its filing that the government’s case was “doomed” because it attacked business acts that “are lawful choices about whom to do business with and product improvements that benefited Google’s customers.”
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia federal court has scheduled trial in the Justice Department’s case for September. The judge has the power to narrow the scope of the lawsuit prior to trial or knock the case completely. Both sides can seek summary judgment, a fact-based review on the merits of a case.
Google separately faces a trial in March 2025 in Texas federal court in a lawsuit Texas and other states lodged that accuses it of abusing its digital ads dominance.
