DoJ To File Lawsuit Against Google Over Ad Market Dominance: Bloomberg

(RTTNews) - The US Department of Justice is reportedly planning to file a lawsuit against Google over its dominance in the online advertising market.

According to Bloomberg, DoJ could file the lawsuit as soon as next month. The report, which cites three unnamed sources, said that the Justice Department is engaged in a round of interviews with publishers to gather more information for its complaint.

Some of the interviews have already taken place and others are scheduled in the coming weeks. They build on previous interrogations conducted during an earlier stage of the long-running investigation, the people said.

In 2020, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for its dominance in the search market and its alleged efforts to suppress competition in search. The lawsuit is still pending.

The report adds that DoJ have not yet decided whether to file the case in federal court in Washington, where the search case is pending, or in New York, where state attorneys general have their own antitrust case related to Google's ad tech business.

"Our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world," said Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels told Bloomberg. "The enormous competition in online advertising has made online ads more relevant, reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers."