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

brett 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.