Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General Sued Google for Monopolies that Hurt Consumers and Small Businesses





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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*
April 17, 2025




*Media Contact:*
Danny Wimmer <[email protected]>






Attorney General Nessel Announces Victory in Case Against Google for Monopolies in Digital Advertising

"Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General Sued Google for Monopolies that Hurt Consumers and Small Businesses"

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today announced a major court victory after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that Google has violated the law (PDF) [ [link removed] ] by maintaining illegal monopolies in the digital advertising technology industry, stifling competition and harming website publishers, advertisers, and consumers. Attorney General Nessel was part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general joining the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue Google in 2023, seeking to stop Google’s anticompetitive conduct that threatens markets in the online advertising industry.  

"Google's longstanding efforts to squeeze out smaller companies or make them dependent on its advertising platform went unchecked for far too long,” Nessel said. “I am proud to have partnered alongside the DOJ and attorneys general from across the country to help level the playing field and restore fairness to the digital marketing landscape for small businesses and consumers." 

In 2023, Attorney General Nessel joined the coalition to sue Google [ [link removed] ] in a lawsuit filed by the DOJ for stifling competition in the advertising technology industry, harming website publishers, advertisers, and consumers. The lawsuit alleged Google’s market power allows it to control nearly every aspect of online ad sales, allowing it to extract higher fees from advertisers while paying lower amounts to publishers for their ad space. This conduct hurts consumers and web publishers by making it harder for websites to make enough money on their advertising inventory, preventing them from offering internet users content for free, without subscriptions, paywalls, or alternative forms of monetization. 

Today’s decision, issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia, found Google liable for violating antitrust law by acquiring and maintaining monopolies in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising. The judge also found Google liable for unlawfully tying together its publisher ad server and its ad exchange and that Google harmed competition, its own customers, and internet users by imposing anticompetitive policies that reduced quality and increased prices.  

A second phase of the trial to determine remedies for Google’s conduct will take place at a later date.  

In addition to Michigan, DOJ is joined in this lawsuit by the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. 

 

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