Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, has filed a lawsuit against Google and its parent company, Alphabet, alleging antitrust violations related to the control of ad buying and selling tools. The lawsuit claims that Google’s practices force publishers to sell more ad space to Google at lower prices, resulting in reduced revenue for publishers and their competitors in the advertising technology industry.
In an op-ed published in USA Today, Gannett CEO Mike Reed explained the motivation behind the lawsuit, citing a significant decline in news publishers’ advertising revenue due to Google’s dominance in the market for “publisher ad servers.” Reed expressed concerns about the negative impact of Google’s practices on local news outlets and the shrinking newsroom employment over the years. The lawsuit encompasses multiple practices by Google that Gannett believes harm competition, spanning from 2009 to the present.
Google’s vice president of Google Ads, Dan Taylor, disputed the claims made in the lawsuit, stating that publishers have various advertising technology options to choose from and highlighting Gannett’s use of competing ad services. Taylor emphasized that publishers retain the majority of the revenue when utilizing Google tools and asserted that Google’s advertising products benefit publishers in funding their online content.
Google defended itself by stating that it has provided substantial financial support to journalism in the digital era and that publishers have multiple tools available to sell ads on its platforms. The company maintains that its advertising technology fees are transparent and adhere to industry standards.
This legal action against Google is not an isolated incident, as the company has faced other recent challenges regarding its dominance in the digital advertising industry. In January, the Justice Department and eight states sued Google over its control of digital ad space, accusing the company of disrupting fair competition. Additionally, the European Union initiated an antitrust investigation into Google in 2021 and recently brought new antitrust charges against the company, advocating for the divestment of parts of its digital advertising business to promote healthy competition.
Gannett’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an injunction against Google to prevent further violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, a federal law that governs antitrust and monopoly regulation. The publisher underwent multiple rounds of layoffs last year as part of cost-cutting measures, reflecting an industry-wide trend in major news outlets.
In summary, Gannett’s lawsuit against Google highlights concerns over alleged antitrust violations related to the control of advertising tools. As legal battles regarding Google’s dominance in the digital advertising industry continue, the implications for publishers and the future of competition in the market remain uncertain.
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