Gannett and Publishers Beat Back Google in Fresh Anti-trust Ruling

Brett Tabkeon
Google gannett anti trust

A federal judge recently ruled in favor of publishers in a key antitrust action against Google LLC. Judge P. Kevin Castel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted partial summary judgment to a plaintiff group that includes Gannett Co., Inc. (publisher of USA TODAY), The Daily Mail, digital-media company Inform, and a proposed class of smaller publishers. The ruling holds Google liable for monopolizing critical segments of the advertising-technology business.

What the Court Found

The court applied issue-preclusion to findings made in a prior government action. That earlier case determined Google illegally monopolized the publisher ad-server market and the ad-exchange market, and unlawfully tied its ad-server product to its ad-exchange product. (prior decsion)

In the new ruling the court held that Google is blocked from re-litigating those liability determinations in this private litigation.

 Beyond that, Google imposed anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminated desirable product features.

In addition to depriving rivals of a chance to compete, “this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,”  –Courthouse News

Whats Next to Watch?

  1. The schedule for the damages phase for the publisher plaintiffs.
  2. Whether Google appeals the ruling or moves on to seek a settlement.
  3. The potential remedies that may follow this liability finding in both private and govt cases.

This ruling marks a minor but important moment in ad-tech antitrust enforcement. If you work in publisher monetization, media buying, or ad-tech product strategy you should take note of this shift.