U.S. Federal Judge sets a date for Google Antitrust Trial Over Digital Ads

A federal judge in the United States scheduled the commencement of a jury trial on September 9, 2024, for the lawsuit brought forth by the U.S. Justice Department and a group of states against Google.

The legal action, initiated in January 2023, alleges that Google has exploited its control over digital advertising technology, monopolizing the market and impeding fair competition.

As such, authorities advocate for the mandatory selling off of Google's ad manager suite.

Google to Face Lawsuit Trial in September 2024 and March 2025

Google disproves these accusations, contending that a successful lawsuit would hinder innovation, increase advertising costs, and prevent the growth of numerous small businesses and publishers.

While the Justice Department and several states sought a July trial date in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema cited logistical challenges and opted for a September date.

Both Google and the Justice Department declined to comment on the trial date. Notably, Google faces another trial in March 2025 in a U.S. federal court in Texas, where a similar lawsuit challenges its advertising technology practices.

Additionally, a third case is underway in Washington, D.C., where a judge may hear closing arguments in May regarding lawsuits from the Justice Department, Colorado, and other states concerning Google's dominance in web search.

Google Antitrust Battle Tracing Back to September

The battle between the U.S. government and Google started on September 12, 2023, a week following a statement from the company's CEO Sundar Pichai on its 25th anniversary.

In his speech, Pichai referred to some remarkable achievements of the company, which included the gigabyte of storage Gmail gave to its users.

He acknowledged failures like the ill-fated Google Wave and highlighted the firm's resilience in challenging times. However, just a week after his post, Google dealt with a tricky question about its future in a courtroom.

This event began its historic legal battle against the federal government, a significant antitrust case that couldimpact the entire tech industry.

Labeled U.S. et al. v. Google, this courtroom showdown represents the first competition trial of the modern internet era.

It stands as the most significant tech antitrust case since Microsoft's legal clash with federal prosecutors over 20 years ago, a time when the world was just beginning to embrace the online space.

Responding to this, Donald Polden, an antitrust law scholar and dean emeritus at the Santa Clara University School of Law, remarked that the case between Google and the U.S. government will be quite a battle.

This assumption hinges on the fact that the market is much more contemporary and vibrant than in the case of Microsoft. He added that it is the federal government's first significant stake in the ground.

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