The Justice Department and eight states opened a legal action, or lawsuit, against Google on Tuesday. They accuse the technology company of abusing its influence in its online advertising operation. The lawsuit argues that Google’s power has been hurtful to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government. The government said that Google is looking to “neutralize or eliminate” competitors in the online advertisement marketplace. The suit claims that Google is forcing advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors’ offerings. “Monopolies threaten the free and fair markets upon which our economy is based,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said to reporters Tuesday. For 15 years, Garland said, Google has slowed the rise of other technologies and changed how online ads operate. He said the business’s operational methods force advertisers and publishers to use its tools. Google’s ad manager lets publishers with large sales manage their advertisements. The ad exchange is a marketplace to buy and sell online display ads. Garland said Google controls the technology used by most major websites to offer advertising space for sale. It also controls the largest ad exchange that connects publishers and advertisers when ad space is sold. The result, he said, is that “website creators earn less and advertisers pay more.” The lawsuit demands that Google stop operating businesses that manage the buying and selling of digital display advertising.
