‍👉 Background: Google, formerly known as "Backrub", started back in 1998 as the search engine we all know and love (or love to hate). But, it's also the dominant force in digital advertising. In 2021, Google paid over $26 billion USD to companies like Apple and Samsung to become their default search engines. And, this has been a big driver for Google’s ad revenue, generating more than $264 billion USD in ad revenue last year.

‍👉 What happened: In August 2024, a US judge ruled that Google broke antitrust laws to dominate internet search. But now, a US Federal Judge has found that Google also used its dominance to squeeze out ad rivals.

‍👉 What else: While the decision has been made, the remedy hasn't been handed down...yet. This case could force Google to divest parts of its ad tech business and could reshape how ads are bought and sold on the internet.

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‍What's the key learning?

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‍💡Monopolies aren't just about size - they’re even more about power. In Google’s case, the court found it used that power not to innovate but to eliminate competition.

💡The ad tech world runs behind the scenes — when you load a website, split-second auctions decide what ads you see. Google has its fingers in all the pies: it runs the auctions, provides the tools for buyers and sellers, and conveniently collects the data too. Get this: Google controls around 87% of the ad-selling software market.

💡Google argued that customers chose their ad-tech because their products were far superior, but the court found that publishers had little choice because Google dominated the market.