By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 1-24-23
The Justice Department is apparently giving broadcasters some help with one of their top Washington priorities – Big Tech’s dominance as an ad platform.
As expected, the DOJ on Jan. 24 said it was filing an antitrust suit against one of the biggest of Big Tech – Google parent Alphabet – over its online ad practices, a move that could lead to Google divesting its ad business and aid TV stations in what the National Association of Broadcasters has called Big Tech’s “stranglehold” on digital advertising and ad rates.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the suit was necessary to combat Google’s 15-year record of anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful conduct in the automated ad tech sector to severely weaken, “if not destroy,” its competitors. » Read More