Google Antitrust Trial Begins With Opening Arguments, DOJ Witnesses

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Opening arguments and initial testimony began in Virginia on Sept. 9 as the Justice Department (DOJ) sought to convince a judge that Google’s purported monopolization of the digital advertising technology market violated antitrust law. DOJ attorney Julia Wood told a federal judge that Google dominated multiple aspects of the advertising technology industry while unfairly quashing competition. Filed in 2023, DOJ’s complaint alleged that the tech giant violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, a law passed in the wake of the industrial revolution. Google’s conduct came out of the “classic monopolists’ playbook” Wood told Judge Leonie Brinkema, who is overseeing the trial in the Eastern District of Virginia. Wood alleged that Google controlled the competition, customers within the advertising technology space, and the rules within the industry....