Google may be sued in the US over dominance of the advertising market

The US Justice Department is expected to file charges this week against Google over its monopoly position in the digital advertising market. That writes the Bloomberg news agency. It wouldn’t be the first case against Google.

The US Justice Department plans to file the case later this week, reports Bloomberg based on its own sources. The case could hit Google hard, as it makes almost all of its money in the online advertising market. It plays a major role there and is the global market leader.

Google itself claims that it is not as dominant in that market, as it faces stiff competition from the likes of Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, all of whom are also active in the online advertising market.

Bloomberg gives few details about what legal arguments the US Department would use in the case. There is already a case about Google’s search engine and the deals the company has made with providers and smartphone makers to deliver its search engine on phones. The case will go to court in September.

Google is under a magnifying glass in many countries because of its dominant market position. In India, the company must this week ensure that smartphone makers no longer have the obligation to provide apps if they want to include the Play Store with their phones. The watchdog in the United Kingdom is looking at the market for mobile browsers, among other things. In the EU, Google was fined billions for abusing its dominance of Android.