The Justice Department calls for splitting Google’s advertising business.
The US Department of Justice and eight states have filed a lawsuit against Google Alphabet Inc., demanding that the search and advertising technology giant cease operations due to alleged illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market.
Google objects to competition in the digital advertising market.
According to the Justice Department, Google’s dominance allows it to keep at least $0.30 of every dollar spent by advertisers on online advertising tools.
“The lawsuit we filed today seeks to hold Google accountable for its long-standing monopoly on digital advertising technologies that content creators use to sell ads and advertisers use to buy ads online,” said Jonathan Kanter, the antitrust division’s head.
Google dominates the $278.6 billion digital advertising market in the United States, controlling the majority of the technology used to buy, sell, and serve online advertising.
Alphabet Inc. shares fell 2.6% to a seasonal low as a result of this news.