Google was found guilty of practicing a monopoly in the advertising business, according to Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia yesterday. She said Google “intentionally acquired and maintained monopoly power” in the browser ad serving market and the ad exchange market between customers and buyers.
This is the second time Google has been found guilty of monopolizing the US after being found guilty of similar practices in the search business in August last year. They may have to sell Google Ad Manager, which generated 14% of the company’s revenue last year. Last year, there were reports that US authorities would force Google to sell its Search and Chrome businesses to end this monopoly practice.
Google was taken to court by the US Department of Justice for several practices that it claims are monopolies that harm the public. Although Google was found guilty in the browser ad serving market and the ad exchange market, they were found not guilty of monopolizing the ad network. After the decision was announced, Google said it would appeal.