Court rules for Gannett in Google antitrust case
Cities federal accusation that tech giant corrupted $200B digital ad market
USA Today
..... A federal judge ruled in favor of Online news publishers and advertisers who allege Google unlawfully monopolized the digital advertising market and diverted revenue hat would have otherwise gone to news operations.
.....
Judge P. Kevin Castel of the U.S. district Court for the Southern District of New York granted partial summary judgment for Garnett, the country's larges newspaper chain and owner of the USA Today; the Daily Mail; digital media company Inform; and a proposed class of smaller publishers, holding Google liable for illegally monopolizing its advertising placement technology business.
..... In a complaint filed in 2023, Gannett and the other plaintiffs accused Google of violating feral antitrust laws by abusing its dominate position to control and profit from the technology used by publishers to buy and sell ads across the Internet.
..... In his ruling, Castel pointed to the findings in the Justice Department's antitrust trial against Google in Northern Virginia earlier this year. [2025]
..... U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in April [2025] that Google acted illegally to maintain its monopoly over some of the automated systems that place ads on the Internet, allowing the company to substantially harm publishers, the competitive process, and consumers of information.
.....
In that case, the Justice Department accused Google of excluding competitors and "corrupting: the digital ad market, which is worth more than $200 billion in the United States. During the trial, the department called witnesses who had worked for publishers including Gannett.
..... "Judge Brinkema's findings of fact and conclusions of law are precise and concise," Castel wrote.
..... Gannett CEO and Chair Mike Reed hailed the ruling as a "major development in the broader antitrust battle" against Google.
..... Gannett publisher USA Today and more than 200 daily newspapers across the country, including the Record. google has faced a string of antitrust lawsuits, including from pushier who have accused the company of monopolizing the digital ad market of the expense of local news operations.
.....
"This is a significant legal win for Gannett and a good day for competition," Reed said in a statement.
..... Google did not immediately respond to request for comment. At the time the complaint was filed, Google told USA today that publishers like Gannett use dozens of competing services to place ads.
..... "When publishers choose to sue google tools, they keep the vast majority of revenue," Dan Taylor, vice president of Google Ads, said in 2023.
.....
Publishers receive much less as a result of being forced to sue Google tools.
..... In seeking damages, Gannett and the other plaintiffs still must show that google's conduct caused damages along with a fair estimate of those damages, said Spencer Weber Waller, a professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
..... "However, the trial will be shorter and a number of the key issues have already been established against Google," he said. "This is like starting the 10th inning with a runner on second base. You're halfway home."
..... Brian Wieser CEO of Madison and Wall, an advisory firm for media, technology retail and other businesses supported by advertising, said newspaper publishers still face industry headwinds even if they recover damages.