The Atlantic, Penske, and Vox Media have all sued Google for antitrust violations

Lawsuits seeking damages from Google’s forbidden advertisement tech monopoly are piling up pursuing the Justice Department’s successful antitrust case. Vox Media, The Verge’s genitor company, is the latest successful a wave of media companies that person revenge suit against Google, seeking to beryllium reimbursed for the monopoly profits the tech institution allegedly made astatine publishers’ expense.

“Absent Google’s conduct, Vox Media would beryllium capable to make disposable moreover more, higher value impressions for acquisition connected Vox Media’s webpages and create much high-quality, premium journalism,” Vox Media alleges successful its lawsuit, revenge Wednesday successful the Southern District of New York. The Atlantic, which is owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, revenge a akin suit successful the aforesaid territory this week, arsenic did Penske Media, which is an investor successful Vox Media and owns brands including Rolling Stone, Billboard, and The Hollywood Reporter. Google is besides facing lawsuits from advertisement tech providers for illustration PubMatic and OpenX, immoderate of which testified successful the proceedings astir really Google’s power unopen retired competition.

(The Verge’s newsroom is editorially independent of Vox Media’s business decisions and was not progressive successful the determination to record this lawsuit. You tin publication our morals argumentation here.)

The lawsuits underscore the ways that the highly method taxable of the 2024 trial impacts an ecosystem of publishers and tech providers. For example, the media institution complaints outline really Google’s forbidden monopoly of the marketplace for patient advertisement servers, utilized to negociate advertisement abstraction for waste connected patient websites, has efficaciously stymied immoderate viable competitors they mightiness see moving to. The publishers besides declare this power lets Google “depress prices for patient inventory beneath competitory levels,” yet depriving them of greater revenue, pinch “no powerfulness to discuss the position of their ad-serving agreements.” All of the lawsuits see akin claims nether national antitrust rule and New York business law.

Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled successful early 2025 that the DOJ successfully proved that it had illegally monopolized the markets for patient advertisement servers and advertisement exchanges, which facilitate advertisement transactions. Brinkema besides recovered Google had illegally tied the 2 products together, making it very difficult for publishers to move providers. But she besides ruled favorably for Google connected 1 count, uncovering the DOJ hadn’t shown it monopolized the marketplace for advertiser-side buying tools.

“Vox Media’s high-quality publicity is funded by our expertise to waste integer advertizing against our content, and by engaging successful complete a decade of anticompetitive and unlawful behavior, Google has deprived Vox Media of this revenue,” Vox Media Head of Communications Lauren Starke said successful a statement. “In filing this lawsuit, we are seeking monetary damages and an extremity to Google’s deceptive and manipulative practices successful bid to protect our expertise to proceed investing successful the trusted contented that our assemblage relies upon.”

Google spokesperson Jackie Berté called the allegations “meritless,” successful a statement. “Advertisers and publishers person galore choices and erstwhile they take Google’s advertisement tech devices it’s because they are effective, affordable and easy to use.” The Atlantic and Penske Media did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

Brinkema is expected to rule this year connected the 2nd shape of the trial, which focused connected what Google should beryllium required to do to reconstruct title to the markets it monopolized. The ruling could consequence successful thing from caller restrictions connected Google’s behavior, to a break up of its advertisement tech business.