The tech behemoth now faces the likelihood of being forced to divest its Google

The tech behemoth now faces the likelihood of being forced to divest its Google Ad Manager.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused the company of unlawfully monopolizing the market. Google is among several major online tech companies currently entangled in legal issues regarding market dominance.

A US federal judge ruled on Thursday in an antitrust case that Alphabet's Google has illegally monopolized the advertising software utilized by website publishers. This ruling opens the door for the DOJ to potentially push for the breakup of the company, suggesting that Google should at the very least sell its Google Ad Manager. Prosecutors indicated that the majority of websites rely on three of Google's advertising software products—publisher ad servers, advertiser tools, and ad exchanges—which create significant barriers for website publishers attempting to move away from Google's monopoly.

The online giant, which operates the world's leading search engine and other platforms like YouTube, is also facing another trial in Washington. In that case, the DOJ is advocating for Google to divest its Chrome browser and take measures to curb its dominance in the search engine market. What did the court state in its ruling regarding Google? "Google has intentionally engaged in a series of anti-competitive actions to acquire and retain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising," stated Judge Leonie Brinkema. "Google further solidified its monopoly by imposing anti-competitive policies on its customers and removing desirable product features," she continued.
"This exclusionary behavior not only deprived competitors of the opportunity to compete but also significantly harmed Google's publisher clients, the competitive landscape, and ultimately consumers of information on the open web." Google has already announced its intention to appeal the ruling.