Digital publishing heavyweight Ziff Davis Inc. has launched a sweeping antitrust battle against Google, accusing the tech titan of manipulating the machinery behind online advertising in a way that squeezes publishers and stifles competition.
In a complaint filed Friday in New York federal court, Ziff Davis alleges that Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., unlawfully seized and maintained monopoly power in two critical corners of the digital advertising ecosystem: the publisher ad server market and the ad exchange market.
At the heart of the case is a claim that Google built a tollbooth on the information superhighway — and then charged everyone to pass.
Allegations of Monopoly Power and Depressed Ad Prices
According to the lawsuit, Google leverages its dominance to dictate how publishers sell advertising space, compelling them to route increasing shares of their inventory through Google’s systems — often at reduced prices.
“Google uses this monopoly to control how publishers sell their ad slots,” the complaint asserts, alleging that the result is diminished revenue for publishers and Google’s rivals while the company harvests “exorbitant monopoly profits.”
Ziff Davis oversees a sprawling portfolio of 45 brands, including CNET, Mashable and PCMag. The publisher says it produces nearly 2 million articles annually, while its websites and mobile apps collectively attract hundreds of millions of unique monthly visitors.
Despite its size and industry standing, the company argues it has not shared proportionately in the wealth of a digital advertising sector it values at $200 billion.
“Yet, Ziff Davis has not shared equally with Google in this massive digital advertising market despite Ziff Davis’s size, value to readers, and industry prestige,” the complaint states.
