Google and the Department of Justice faced off again in a trial regarding whether Google has a monopoly in the advertising technology market. The trial started last fall in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and on April 17th, 2025, Judge Brinkema ruled that Google did act illegally to acquire and maintain monopoly power in online advertising.
The DOJ argued that Google unfairly locked up the market for ad tech tools that publishers and advertisers rely on to monetize their websites and market their goods. Google responded that it created efficient products that work well for customers and said it faced plenty of competition.
This partial loss for Google comes on the heels of a historic ruling in favor of the government in a different antitrust trial against Google before a different judge. There, a DC District Court judge ruled Google had illegally monopolized the online search market. So, while the ad tech case plays out, the government is simultaneously requesting ground-shaking remedies to restore competition in search.
Read on below for all of the updates and notes from the case.
Google and the DOJ make their final arguments in the ad tech monopoly case
Google’s empire is under siege
Tech critics want a Google exec punished for deleted chats
Google is replacing the exec in charge of Search and ads
How Google tried to unravel the DOJ’s ad tech case
Google and the DOJ are out of court until November 25th.
Google says a closed ad ecosystem isn’t anticompetitive — it’s just safer
How Google made the ad tech industry revolve around itself
TL;DR on the DOJ’s ad tech antitrust trial against Google.
Why Google is back in court for another monopoly showdown
Google employees’ attempts to hide messages from investigators might backfire
In US v. Google, YouTube’s CEO defends the Google way
How Google got away with charging publishers more than anyone else
How Google altered a deal with publishers who couldn’t say no
Google dominates online ads, says antitrust trial witness, but publishers are feeling ‘stuck’
Google’s ad server is “slow and clunky” — but virtually everybody uses it.
Day 2 of the Google-DOJ antitrust trial begins.
Google and the DOJ’s ad tech fight is all about control
Google and the Justice Department have made their opening salvos in court.
The Google ad tech trial is kicking off this morning.
Google and DOJ return for round two of their antitrust fight — this time about ads