Federal Judge Rules Google Operates Illegal Advertising Monopoly

On April 17, 2025, a federal judge ruled that Google, a dominant force in the tech industry, operates an “illegal advertising monopoly,” according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. This landmark decision marks a significant escalation in the antitrust battles facing Alphabet Inc.’s flagship company, building on earlier rulings and lawsuits that have challenged Google’s market practices.

The ruling is part of a broader legal scrutiny into how Google wields its market power, with profound implications for its business model, the digital advertising industry, and the broader tech landscape.

The foundation of this ruling traces back to a 2020 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), joined by several states, alleging that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in the search engine market. On August 5, 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by securing exclusive agreements with companies like Apple and Samsung to make its search engine the default on their devices.

These deals, Mehta argued, stifled competition and entrenched Google’s dominance, which commands around 90% of the global search market. The April 2025 ruling extends this scrutiny to Google’s digital advertising practices, an area where the company has also been accused of anticompetitive behavior.

The DOJ’s 2025 lawsuit specifically targeting Google’s digital advertising technologies, filed alongside several state Attorneys General, accuses the company of monopolizing ad tech markets through serial acquisitions and auction manipulation.

According to the DOJ, Google’s practices have allowed it to pocket over 30% of advertising dollars flowing through its platforms, sometimes more, while suppressing alternative technologies and hindering competition. This has led to inflated ad costs for businesses and reduced revenues for publishers, ultimately impacting the open web’s ecosystem that relies on ad revenue to provide free access to information and services.

The consequences for Google could be far-reaching. The court has yet to determine specific penalties, but potential remedies include banning or limiting Google’s default search agreements, mandating the sharing of its search data with competitors, or even a structural breakup of the company—though such a drastic measure is historically rare in U.S. antitrust cases. A hearing scheduled for September 2024 to discuss remedies has set the stage for a lengthy legal battle, with Google expected to appeal, potentially delaying any significant changes for months or even years.

For Google, this ruling threatens its core revenue streams, as digital advertising accounts for a substantial portion of its income—$307.4 billion in 2023 alone, according to industry estimates. A forced restructuring or loss of default search status could erode its market share, giving competitors like Microsoft’s Bing or emerging AI-driven search platforms a chance to gain ground.

Moreover, the increased regulatory scrutiny may embolden further lawsuits and investigations, both in the U.S. and globally, where Google already faces similar challenges.

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