A landmark lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice against Alphabet’s Google over control of ad technology could help rivals and websites selling ad space, but the future of advertisers themselves is uncertain. an expert told Reuters.
The Justice Department’s complaint against Google on Tuesday called for the company to sell Google Ad Manager. Google Ad Manager is a suite of tools that includes tools that allow websites to place advertising space for sale, as well as tools that act as an advertising marketplace that automatically matches advertisers with their publishers.
A win in the Justice Department lawsuit “could give advertisers and publishers more options by expanding their player base, which could result in more competition,” Moody’s Investors Service said. says Neil Begley of
Bryan Mandelbaum, CEO of ad tech firm Attain, said Apple could be the winner, with a steadily growing early advertising business and a privacy-focused push if Google’s advertising performance declines. said there is.
Advertising industry executives say businesses that advertise on websites not owned by Google provide Google with valuable information about the effectiveness of their advertising.
He said that because Apple holds data through ownership of mobile phones, the Safari web browser, and distribution of apps through the App Store, it has “the ability to become the new dominant force” in advertising. rice field.
Google’s competitors in ad tech, like Google today, are increasingly creating products that serve both publishers, like news websites, who sell ad space, and advertisers, who buy ads, he said. said Paul Bannister, chief strategy officer at cafe media, which helps businesses. Large publishers sell advertising space.
Bannister said if Google were forced to sell the tools it provides to publishers, it would benefit competitors such as Microsoft-owned Xandr, which continue to operate on both sides of the ad-buying ecosystem.
Mandelbaum said having more options outside of Google could give publishers more transparency about how much they can sell ad space for, ultimately paying less commission.
If successful, the lawsuit could be “the beginning of a serious business model change for Google,” said Paul Gallant, managing director of Cowen Washington Research Group.
He said the sold property could cause Google to lose important data that helps it target ads to relevant consumers.
If Google loses access to data signals, advertisers may find their Google ads less effective, said Nikhil Lai, senior analyst at research firm Forrester.
On at least two occasions in the past, the government has filed lawsuits against dominant companies, with far-reaching consequences. AT&T’s separation lawsuit, filed in 1974, resulted in an agreement to separate the company in 1982. That split is credited with many innovations in telephony.
A Justice Department lawsuit against Microsoft, filed in 1998, bound Microsoft as it sought to extend its dominant operating system to Internet browsers. The lawsuit was settled, but the battle is believed to have paved the way for other Internet innovators such as Google itself.