-----Original Message-----
From: Paul and Bill from Ringside at the Reckoning <ringsideatthereckoning@substack.com>
To: add1dda@aol.com
Sent: Thu, Jan 26, 2023 11:03 pm

The DOJ's latest antitrust suit against Google

I'm no fan of Merrick Garland and the Biden Justice Department. On the civil rights front, the area I know most about, I think the DOJ has been awful. However, the DOJ may be on the right track in its recently-filed antitrust suit against Google. The suit  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Open in app or online The DOJ's latest antitrust suit against Google Paul Mirengoff Jan 27   Cross-post   I'm no fan of Merrick Garland and the Biden Justice Department. On the civil rights front, the area I know most about, I think the DOJ has been awful. However, the DOJ may be on the right track in its recently-filed antitrust suit against Google. The suit, in which the Department is joined by the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia (so both Democrats and Republicans), alleges that Google monopolizes key digital advertising technologies that website publishers depend on to sell ads and that advertisers rely on to buy ads and reach potential customers. I have some litigation experience in antitrust, but it's been years since that involvement and even then I wasn't a specialist in the area. In addition, I don't know many facts about Google's monopolization (or not) of digital advertising technologies. However, I think I know this fact: Google injured at least one website publisher — Power Line. Its ad revenue dropped significantly when Google, to borrow the words of the Associate Attorney General, "captured publishers' revenue for its own profits." No wonder. According to the DOJ, Google keeps at least 30 cents, and sometimes far more, of each advertising dollar that flows from advertisers to publishers through its ad-tech tools. Could Google take that big a cut in a more competitive market? It seems unlikely. Indeed, the DOJ's complaint alleges that Google privately admitted it couldn't. The DOJ alleges that Google was able to gain its market position and inflict harm because of its "pervasive and systemic pattern of misconduct through which Google sought to consolidate market power and stave off free-market competition." This allegation appears to state a claim, but the Department will have to prove it. According to this report, the DOJ has been preparing its case against Google's digital ad business for years, including during the Trump administration. And, as noted, the DOJ's suit is bipartisan in the sense that both Democrat and Republican state AG's have joined it as plaintiffs. Google reportedly controls about 29 percent of the digital ad market, down from close to 40 percent a few years ago. Its closest competitor, Meta, doesn't lag very far behind. By contrast, Google has more than a 70 percent share in the search advertising market, as to which the DOJ sued the company during the Trump administration (a suit that's still pending). Google cites this state of play as contradicting the government's claim that it monopolizes the digital ad market. Google also argues that the DOJ should not be forcing companies to reverse 15-year-old investments in advertising platforms it acquired and nurtured to success, particularly when these investments were reviewed by regulators and allowed to proceed. The Competitive Enterprise Institute offers its critique of the DOJ's suit here. It argues that with falling prices, rising volumes, and new competitors like TikTok eating away at Google and Meta's leading market shares, the market is already addressing the concerns raised in the government's lawsuit. "This is a competitive sector that's moving quicker than politically-motivated antitrust regulators," it says. So perhaps this is the right lawsuit at the wrong time. It wouldn't be the first time the government was slow off the mark and overtaken by events. The lawsuit calls for Google to spin off its sell-side advertising platform, known as Google Ad Manager. The Justice Department also seeks the divestiture of AdX, the Google auction platform through which brands bid for publishers' ad space. The suit seeks monetary damages, including for revenue the government, as an advertiser, claims to have lost to Google. Who knows? Maybe there are a few dollars in it for Power Line.     Cross-post     Comment Share