US Justice Department Says Google Is a 'Three-Time Monopolist'

The US Department of Justice and Google appeared before a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The Justice Department heavily criticized Google for what it called "not once, not twice, but three monopolies" in the digital advertising technology field . Google, in its defense, stated that competition in this sector continues and that they have developed their own products accordingly.

US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema heard the court's closing arguments, which lasted about three hours . The judge is expected to issue a decision by the end of the year. If the court rules that Google has a monopoly, a second trial will be held to present "proposed remedies ." Google previously lost a similar case over Google Search.

Google argues the market is fair

According to the Justice Department , Google is putting both advertisers and publishers in a difficult situation with its advertising technologies. Google argues that they are in competition with other companies and that this shows that the market is fair. 

Judge Brinkema asked the Justice Department why it focused its arguments on publishers. Aaron Teitelbaum , representing the department , said he believed publishers were a better reflection of Google's anti-competitive behavior. 

On the other hand, Google and the Justice Ministry are also at odds in court over how to define the advertising market. The Ministry says Google operates in three different markets , while Google says they operate in a single two-way market.