BREAKING: Federal judge rules Google has monopoly over ad technology

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly over online advertising technology. This is the second time in the last year where a judge has said that the company has violated antitrust laws in the US. 

According to The Hill, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema said in her decision, “Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising."

The judge found that out of the three markets in the online advertising technology space, Google has a monopoly in two of them. 

"For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets," the judge added in the decision. 

CNBC reports that the ruling could allow for the breaking up of Google in the ad space, and possible sell off Google Ad Manager, which hold the servers for publishing advertisements as well as its ad exchange. The company has previously weighed selling off its advertising exchange when it was facing pressure from European countries over anti-trust laws. 

A three-week trial law year was overseen by Brinkema after a number of states and the DOJ brought a lawsuit against Google. Prosecutors have argued that Google has used classic strategies to establish a monopoly in the online advertising space through acquisitions as well as other tactics.  

Google’s lawyers argued that the prosecution was ignoring the online advertising technology market share that Amazon as well as Comcast have.