Google ad-tech antitrust: publishers clear a major hurdle

US District Judge P. Kevin Castel denied Google's motions for summary judgment, allowing core antitrust claims by Gannett, Daily Mail and a class of digital publishers to proceed over Google's ad server and AdX exchange. The opinion cites expert damage estimates of $901m (Gannett), $600m (Daily Mail) and $1.72bn for the publisher class through March 2024.

The crux

Publishers' years-long effort to hold Google accountable for its ad-server-plus-exchange monopoly cleared its biggest procedural hurdle, but the ruling does not establish how much, if anything, they will recover.

Sell-side read

A win for the sell side's core argument that Google's ad-server and AdX tie depressed publisher revenue. If damages are proven, the precedent strengthens every publisher's hand on fees and tech choices.

Watch

Whether the surviving claims (AdX publisher class, Mikla Web Solutions) move toward a damages award, and how findings from the parallel Virginia ad-tech case are carried forward.