PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes celebrated a legal victory Thursday after a court ruled that Google is illegally monopolizing digital advertising.
In 2023, Mayes was one of 17 attorneys general who joined the Department of Justice (DOJ) in suing Google.
The lawsuit aimed to halt Google’s anticompetitive conduct that threatens companies in the online advertising sector, according to a news release from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Why did the Arizona attorney general join the Google lawsuit?
Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia found that Google violated the law by creating an illegal monopoly in the digital advertising business.
The lawsuit claimed that Google stifles competition and hurts website publishers, advertisers and consumers.
The tech giant is able to control every part of online ad sales, while making billions from advertisers and paying publishers little for their online advertisements, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, consumers and web publishers struggle to make enough money using online advertisements.
Google’s landscape also stops publishers from offering free content without subscriptions or paywalls.
What’s next for the Google lawsuit Kris Mayes is involved in?
A second part of the trial that has not been scheduled will determine how to sort out Google’s issues.
“One of the main reasons I ran for this office was to push back against the imbalance we see in so many areas between entrenched corporate power and regular people,” Mayes said.
“With this case, I have taken on a serious fight against corporate greed and abuses of power on behalf of small business and consumers in Arizona and won. This is a significant victory against the giant monopoly Google and a significant step forward in the national fight to bust all illegal monopolies.”
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