Google’s aim was to ‘crush’ competition according to former president of display ads: court docs
On the third day of the tech giant's antitrust trial, prosecutors began to introduce evidence of how Google employees thought about the company's products
In 2009, as Google was expanding its online advertising business, a company executive reportedly told colleagues that their objective was to "crush" competing advertising networks, according to evidence presented by prosecutors during the tech giant's antitrust trial on Wednesday.
This statement supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s claim that Google aimed to monopolize the markets for publisher ad servers and ad networks, as reported by Reuters.
On the third day of the trial, prosecutors introduced evidence showing how Google employees viewed their products. The DOJ argues that Google deliberately sought to dominate the ad tech market. "We'll be able to crush the other networks, and that's our goal," said David Rosenblatt, Google’s former president of display advertising, in late 2008 or early 2009, according to notes revealed in court.
Google disputes these allegations, maintaining that it faces strong competition from other digital advertising companies.
According to the notes from Rosenblatt's talk, he discussed the benefits of owning technology across all parts of the ad market. “We’re both Goldman and NYSE,” he said, referring to Goldman Sachs, a major financial institution, and the New York Stock Exchange, one of the world's largest stock markets.
Rosenblatt highlighted that by owning publisher ad servers, Google’s advertiser ad network would have the "first look" at available ad spots. He also noted that it was very difficult for publishers to switch platforms, saying, “It takes an act of God to do it.” Rosenblatt is currently the CEO of the online luxury marketplace 1stDibs.
Brad Bender, who worked at Google until 2022, testified that he had forwarded Rosenblatt’s notes to his team, calling them a “worthwhile read.”
Google has defended itself, stating it is not the only company offering an integrated suite of products for advertisers and publishers, citing similar offerings from Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms.
If U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema rules that Google violated the law, she may consider the DOJ’s request to force Google to sell off its Google Ad Manager, a platform that includes both its publisher ad server and ad exchange.
