USA Today publisher sues Google over online ad monopoly

Gannett is the largest newspaper publisher in the US. Photo: Jacqueline Martin/AP

The largest newspaper publisher in the US has filed a lawsuit against Google over allegations that the tech giant has illegal monopolies in the online advertising market.

Gannett, who owns USA Today and many local publications claim that Google controls how publishers sell their ad space and forces them to sell more and more Google space at lower prices.

This leads to lower revenue for publishers and other companies, advertising tech while boosting Google's bottom line, the lawsuit says.

In an article published by USA Today, Gannett CEO Mike Reed called Google «a serial violator of US antitrust and antitrust laws.» consumer protection legislation.”

He said: “The crux of the matter and our position is that Google is abusing its control of its monopoly over ad servers to make it harder for competing exchanges to conduct competitive auctions…Our lawsuit seeks to restore fair competition in the digital advertising market. that Google destroyed.”

The lawsuit, filed in New York against Google and its parent company Alphabet, seeks unspecified damages and an injunction. He wants a jury trial.

Google Digital Advertising Share in the UK

Dan Taylor, VP of Google Ads, said: “These claims are simply not true. Publishers have many options to choose from when it comes to using ad tech to monetize—in fact, Gannett uses dozens of competing ad services, including Google Ad Manager. And when publishers use Google's tools, they get the most revenue.

«We'll show the court how our advertising products benefit publishers and help them fund their content online.»

In addition to its American brands, Gannett also owns Newsquest, which controls British newspapers including the Oxford Mail and Brighton Argus.

Google is facing a number of legal and regulatory challenges amid growing concerns about its dominance in the online advertising ecosystem.

Critics point to Google's control of every aspect of the advertising market. The tech giant is a big player in both the buying and selling of advertising space, as well as the so-called ad exchange, which runs auctions. Its market share is estimated at 90%.

In January, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Google's dominance of the online advertising market. The company has accused the company of illegally monopolizing the way it displays ads online by excluding competitors.

The UK and the EU have launched competition investigations, and Brussels last week escalated its war against Google in an attempt to carve up the tech giant's advertising business.

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Meanwhile, a £13.6bn class-action lawsuit was filed in the UK last year accusing Google of making «excess profits» from advertising at the expense of hundreds of thousands of publishers.

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