In a stunning decision on April 17, a federal judge ruled that Google’s online advertising business constitutes an **illegal monopoly**.
This landmark verdict marks the **second time** courts have deemed the tech giant guilty of breaching antitrust laws within the past year.
In response to the ruling, Google has announced plans to **appeal**, asserting that the court’s rationale is based on outdated frameworks.
The recent decision, delivered by U.S. District Judge **Leonie Brinkema**, highlights the **manipulative practices** within Google’s advertising ecosystem that connects website publishers with advertisers. In her opinion, the violations of antitrust law are both damning and systemic.
According to Brinkema’s **[115-page ruling](https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/united-states-of-america-et-al-v-google-llc-memorandum-opinion-2025.pdf)**, the judge articulated: “For over a decade, Google has tightly integrated its publisher ad server and ad exchange through contractual policies and advanced technology. This strategic manipulation has enabled the company to cement and guard its monopoly power in these two crucial markets.”
The **[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/google-illegal-monopoly-advertising-search-a1e4446c4870903ed05c03a2a03b581e)** reveals that the roots of this monopolistic structure trace back to 2008, when Google acquired the online advertising powerhouse **DoubleClick** for a staggering $3.2 billion. Initially approved by regulators, this acquisition has since been recognized as a pivotal step that enabled Google to manipulate ad pricing across platforms.
The U.S. **Justice Department** contends that Google dominantly controls every corner of the digital ad ecosystem—encompassing the platforms used by website publishers, the technology utilized by advertisers, and the ad exchanges facilitating real-time auctions between buyers and sellers.
Google is poised to appeal the ruling, with **Lee-Anne Mulholand**, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, asserting that “publishers have a myriad of choices; they choose Google due to our ad tech tools remaining simple, cost-effective, and efficient.”
