Google loses online advertising monopoly case

A federal court ruled that Google violated U.S. antitrust laws through its dominance in online advertising and ad-tech. This is Google's second major antitrust loss, following a ruling about its search market dominance. The government seeks to force Google to sell its "network" ad business, which accounts for about 12% of Alphabet's business. Google argues this would hurt publishers by forcing them to use more expensive rival networks. Forcing Google to divest would impact its overall business, potentially affecting investments in AI and cloud. The court found Google has an illegal monopoly in advertising exchanges and ad servers, but not the general display ad market. A judge ruled Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange. Google will appeal the part of the ruling it disagrees with, asserting its tools are effective and beneficial for publishers. The next phase of the trial will determine penalties or remedies, similar to the search case. Google might be forced to divest its Chrome search engine or its search partnership deals.