The Biden administration is gearing up to take on Google in court over the company’s alleged antitrust violations in the digital advertisin𓂃g market, according to a report.
The Justice Department is expected to file a federal lawsuit against the search engine’s parent company Alpღhabet Inc. as soon as Tuesda🌺y,
The Post has sought comment from Alphabet Inc. and𒅌 the Justice Department.
The lawsuit is expected to take an aim aꦬt Google’s advertising business, which is responsible for som🌄e 80% of its revenue. This year, the company ꧑is expected to bring in $73.8 billion in digital ad revenue.
In addition to its well-known search, which is free, Google makes rev꧅enue through its interlocking ad tech businesses, which connect advertisers with neܫwspapers, websites and other firms looking to host them.
Advertisers and website publishers have complained that Google has not been transparent about where ad dollars go, specifically how much goes to publishers and how much toꦛ Google♛.
Google had previously argued that the ad tech ecosystem was com♕petitive with Facebook, AT&T, Comcast and others.
Whileꦆ Google remains the market leader by a long shot, its share of the U.S. dig🍌ital ad revenue has been eroding, falling from 36.7% in 2016 to 28.8% last year, according to Insider Intelligence.
This would be the second time that the Justice Department has filed suit against Google🌠, accusing it of being a monopoly.
Durin𒈔g the Trump administration, then-Attorney General Willia💮m Barr filed suit against Google over its search engine, accusing the company of using exclusive distribution deals with wireless carriers and phone makers to limit competition.
The Barr laws෴🐽uit against Google is scheduled to go to trial in September.
The company has also been hauled into court on three separate occasions b🅠y three state attorneys general.
Last year, Texas, Indiana, Washington State, and the Dis🧸trict of Columbia sued Google over what they alleged was deceptive location-tracking practices that invade users’ privacy.
Dozens of other states signed on to the lawsuit.🐲 Google eventually agreed to settle with 40 states by paying🔥 out $391.5 million.
With Post Wires