FILE PHOTO: The corporate flags for the Gannett Co and its flagship newspaper, USA Today, fly outside their corporate headquarters in McLean, Virginia, July 23, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES/File Photo)
Gannett, the publisher of USA Today, has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of engaging in an illegal monopoly in the advertising technology market. This lawsuit adds to the growing list of legal challenges that have been filed against Google for alleged anticompetitive behaviour.
In the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Gannett argues that Google has been carrying out a sophisticated and deceptive scheme to monopolize the ad tech market for over a decade. The publisher also stresses that Google’s control over the largest ad exchange and ad server, which it acquired rather than developed, has had several negative impacts on news publishers. Gannett asserts that while online readership has increased, online ad spending has decreased for publishers.
Gannett’s Chairman and CEO, Michael Reed, stated that Google’s monopolistic practices have been disadvantageous not just to publishers and their readers, but also to the entire online economy. He emphasized that digital advertising is crucial for the survival of the online ecosystem as well as all the people that interact with it, and that without fair competition between the creators in the digital ad space, publishers are faced with the problem of being unable to invest in their various newsrooms.
The lawsuit aligns with arguments made by the Department of Justice and a group of attorneys general led by Texas in their respective lawsuits against Google. These legal actions have zeroed in on Google’s control of various aspects of the ad selling and buying market, alleging that the company has maintained its monopoly using illegal means.
In response to the lawsuit, Google Ads Vice President Dan Taylor issued a statement refuting Gannett’s claims. He stated that Gannett’s allegations are simply wrong and emphasized that publishers have numerous options when it comes to choosing advertising technology to monetize their content. Taylor also highlighted that Gannett itself uses multiple competing ad services, including Google Ad Manager, and that publishers retain the majority of revenue when they opt to use Google tools. Google intends to demonstrate to the court how its advertising products benefit publishers and support the funding of online content.
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