Why “The Jury’s Out” on the Government’s Case Against Google’s Ad Tech Monopoly

By: Harry First (ProMarket)

The United States Department of Justice and eight states filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the way it operates its digital display advertising business violates antitrust laws. The lawsuit states that Google’s illegal conduct harmed the U.S. government as a website advertiser. The DOJ has demanded a trial by jury, which is unusual as it is seeking money damages, making the case legally complex.

The DOJ has the right to seek damages to its “business or property” caused by an antitrust violation since 1955, but it has almost never sought money damages from antitrust violations, even in price-fixing cases where it could have. In previous monopolization cases, the DOJ has asked only for equitable relief, which means a court order to end the defendant’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition to the market. These types of cases are tried before a judge as the fact-finder. The decision to seek damages and demand a jury trial in a monopolization case is unprecedented. Furthermore, the government plaintiffs also brought their case in an unusual court. To the extent legally possible, a plaintiff generally tries to pick a court that it believes will be most favorable to its case… 

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