Google received another public flogging in federal court on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered Google to stop the conduct that has been strangling revenue from web publishers for years — the latest blow in the government’s antitrust case against the tech giant’s advertising empire.
This follows Brinkema’s ruling last year that Google violated US antitrust laws by unlawfully maintaining monopoly power in open web display advertising. It was the SECOND time a federal judge ruled that Google held an illegal monopoly in part of its business, after Judge Amit Mehta found the same thing in online search.
Google is a monopolist. The courts confirmed this again.
The Department of Justice announced its victory in their case in April 2025:
“This is a landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will continue taking bold legal action to protect the American people from encroachments on free speech and free markets by tech companies.”
Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater went even further in the same DOJ statement:
“The Court’s ruling is clear: Google is a monopolist and has abused its monopoly power. Google’s unlawful dominance allows them to censor and even deplatform American voices. And at the same time, Google destroyed and hid information that exposed its illegal conduct. Today’s opinion confirms Google’s controlling hand over online advertising and, increasingly, the internet itself.”
Google censors and deplatforms American voices. The DOJ said it clear and out loud.
Here’s what the case was about… Google controlled BOTH sides of the online advertising market. It owned the platforms publishers use to sell ad space, the platforms advertisers use to buy it, AND the AdX exchange where the transactions happen — while pocketing a 20 percent fee.
Government lawyers even recounted how a senior Google executive once compared the setup to Goldman Sachs owning the New York Stock Exchange.
Historically, Google has taken a cut of over 30 cents on the dollar for every advert that passes through the system.
On Wednesday, Judge Brinkema, in a two-page order, declined to force Google to sell off the AdX exchange. But she ordered “behavioral remedies” — a set of rules governing how Google must operate — and will publish the full details in 14 days. She indicated she accepted “most of the parties’ proposed behavioral remedies.”
The Daily Mail reported on the testimony from publishers who were bled dry by Google’s scheme:
“Google suppressing prices for publishers ultimately reduces publisher revenue which, in turn, means we do not invest in journalism in a way that we potentially otherwise could,” Matthew Wheatland, the Daily Mail’s Chief Digital Officer, told the court at the time.
The DOJ said it was “pleased that the court ordered substantial relief” and added: “We are one step closer to restoring competition and bringing relief for the American people in online advertising markets. The Department is evaluating appropriate next steps.”
Google, of course, spun the ruling as a win because the court didn’t break the company apart, and it says it will appeal.
But Google’s troubles are far from over. Last year, the European Commission fined the company €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) over its ad tech practices in an EU shakedown. A trial in Texas over its digital advertising practices was paused pending the outcome in Virginia.
And publishers and competitors are moving ahead with their own lawsuits seeking financial damages.
Two federal judges. Two illegal monopolies. And Big Tech’s grip on the digital public square is finally being pried loose — one ruling at a time.
As a reminder… Google de-monetized The Gateway Pundit in 2021.
Years ago, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, led by British far-left activist Imran Ahmed, put The Gateway Pundit high on their list to persecute, smear, and put out of business.
Imran said this during testimony before the UK Parliament in September 2021, when he bragged about working for over a year to push Google to demonetize The Gateway Pundit.