Google argues the DOJ failed to define the relevant markets and is challenging behavior that is lawful.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Attorneys for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google made their final arguments on Nov. 25 in a high-profile antitrust case that questions whether the tech giant violated federal law through its digital advertising practices.
The case started last year when the DOJ filed a complaint alleging that Google had engaged in anticompetitive conduct with its advertising technology platforms like Google Ads.
Closing arguments on Nov. 25 came at the end of a bench trial in Virginia that started in September and followed a major ruling against Google across the river in Washington. Both cases could bring major changes for Google and inform how future courts handle antitrust claims.
DOJ lawyer Aaron Teitelbaum told Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema that Google rigged the rules of advertising auctions and generally perpetrated anticompetitive conduct across three technologies that facilitate digital ad sales.
In its closing argument, the DOJ used statements from Google employees in an attempt to show that they were focused on dominating the market in an unfair way. Among other things, Teitelbaum argued that Google pulled the levers of its various advertising technologies