Gannett, one of the largest media groups globally, is suing Google for alleged monopolistic practices in the online advertising market. As Google and its parent company Alphabet dominate the market, Gannett claims that publishers are experiencing significantly reduced revenues while Google enjoys excessive profits. Earlier this year, the United States also filed a lawsuit against Google for obstructing competition in online advertising. Meanwhile, in the EU, the possibility of splitting up Google is being considered due to its control over both the selling and buying sides of the adtech market. According to market researchers, Google controls about a quarter of the US digital advertising market. Although the shares of big tech companies are slowly declining, Google remains the largest provider. Gannett asserts that Google controls 90 percent of the market for advertising servers and enjoys supremacy in advertising exchanges. About 60 percent of all of Gannett’s advertisers come from Google. Gannett’s CEO, Michael Reed, argues that such dominance without fair competition prevents publishers from investing in their editorial offices. Google has dismissed the allegations as false, stating that publishers have multiple options to choose from for ad technology monetization. Google believes that their advertising products benefit publishers and help them finance their online content.
