Google is the subject of several antitrust lawsuits
Google can no longer escape a multi-state antitrust lawsuit for entering into an illegal agreement with its biggest online advertising competitor, Facebook. There was already a lawsuit about the case which was filed in 2020 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Facebook did not appear at this trial. Google later moved to dismiss that same lawsuit, but U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel for Southern New York ruled that the lawsuit will continue.
Despite the lawsuit continuing, Judge Castel dismissed a claim that the deal between Google and Facebook was an unlawful restriction of trade. He claimed that the motivations of the two companies to enter into the agreement may not be inexplicable.
Google said Castel’s decision highlighted flaws in Paxton’s lawsuit. At this time, Paxton’s office has not commented on the matter.
The “Jedi Blue”
Jedi Blue is the name given to the secret agreement between Google and Facebook. Apparently, the agreement has given the social network a big advantage in the most widely used search tool online. According to Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit and the 16 states suing Google, it’s illegal.
In a previous lawsuit, Google was accused of harming its competitors in the ad market by engaging, according to CNet, “ false or even misleading acts in the operation of online advertisements “.
Google’s Defense
As noted above, Google requested the dismissal of the original lawsuit. His argument was that the conduct described as illegal by the states was legal. Recall that Google has previously offered to authorize third-party advertising platforms on YouTube in order to settle, without having to pay a fairly large fine, an ongoing antitrust investigation. This survey was conducted by the European Union.
In addition, Google said in a statement that advertising technology creates resource-rich businesses, hence the rise of competition in this field. He also says his products give more choices to various people, whether publishers or advertisers, while allowing small businesses to find new customers at an affordable price.
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