Google defends Meta deal, ad empire from US states’ antitrust threatBloombergA 2018 advertising pact between Alphabet Inc’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc does not contravene antitrust law because it does not restrict Facebook from using rival ad exchanges, Google’s attorney told a federal judge. Google and Meta, which is not a defendant in the case, have defended the agreement and denied any wrongdoing. The deal expanded competition because it allows Facebook to bid on ads being sold through Google’s ad exchange on behalf of Web sites or mobile apps within its Facebook Audience Network, he said. In exchange, the social media company abandoned plans to adopt a new type of technology that would have undercut Google’s online advertising monopoly, he said. Lawyers for the US Department of Justice — which sued Google in 2020 for allegedly monopolizing the search market and is separately probing the company’s ad tech business — attended Wednesday’s hearing.

Source: Taipei Times September 01, 2022 23:29 UTC