{"id":3842,"date":"2022-01-18T13:47:13","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T13:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/18\/google-accused-of-defrauding-publishers-advertisers-and-pocketing-the-revenue\/"},"modified":"2022-01-18T13:47:13","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T13:47:13","slug":"google-accused-of-defrauding-publishers-advertisers-and-pocketing-the-revenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/18\/google-accused-of-defrauding-publishers-advertisers-and-pocketing-the-revenue\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Accused of Defrauding Publishers, Advertisers and Pocketing the Revenue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Photo: Pawel Czerwinski\/Unsplash)<\/small><\/center>New details from a pending lawsuit against Google reveals that the company deceived those involved in its advertising business for years, resulting in increased cash flow that Google then pocketed.<\/span><\/p>\n

This information follows a lawsuit filed by ten states back in December 2020, in which a handful of Republican attorneys general <\/span>sued<\/span><\/a> the tech giant for forming a monopoly around its web search and digital advertising services. The complaint pointed out that Facebook had emerged in 2017 as a viable Google competitor, and that Google had swiftly taken care of the potential rivalry by initiating a tradeoff: Facebook would scale back its competitive actions in return for preferential treatment in Google-run ad auctions. Over the span of 12 years, the suit alleged, Google had gradually dominated the digital advertising market, beginning with its acquisition of DoubleClick in 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coincidentally (or not), this followed a separate <\/span>lawsuit<\/span><\/a> filed by the Department of Justice two months prior, in which the DOJ alleged that Google had abused its position in the market to hobble its competitors and keep its place at the top of the search and advertising food chain. Of course, Google denied the claims made in both suits, calling them \u201cbaseless\u201d and \u201cmeritless\u201d while promising to defend itself tirelessly in court.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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(Photo: Solen Feyissa\/Unsplash)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Much of the December lawsuit has been redacted for the last year, leaving most of the public out of the loop when it came to the details of Google\u2019s supposed wrongdoings. Now a federal judge has <\/span>decided<\/span><\/a> an amended version of the complaint could be unsealed, allowing unredacted fragments of the suit to rise to the surface. Among them is the allegation that Google created secret programs within its ad auctions that increased advertising costs for buyers while decreasing sales for companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One program within Google\u2019s secret repertoire involved the company using an advertiser\u2019s previous bids to set minimum prices for that specific advertiser, resulting in higher bids going forward. Another program changed the fee inherent to Google\u2019s ad exchange to help Google\u2019s own tools win auctions they previously would have lost. According to the complaint\u2014which cites internal correspondence among Google employees\u2014the company pocketed the extra revenue and used it to manipulate future auctions and grow its digital monopoly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The case (along with the DOJ\u2019s lawsuit) isn\u2019t set to go to trial until 2023. Much like the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s antitrust <\/span>complaint<\/span><\/a> against Facebook, Google could be forced to sell off its monopolizing assets (including DoubleClick) if the final verdict isn\u2019t in its favor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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