Court rules against Google and maintains advertising case in Virginia

A US federal judge rejected an attempt to Googleof Alphabet Incto transfer from Virginia to New York a lawsuit of the Justice Department against him for his mastery of ad technology.

“I’m going to rule against you,” Judge Leonie Brinkema told a Google lawyer.

The government, which filed the lawsuit in January along with eight states, accused the company of abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business and argued that it should be forced to sell its advertising management suite. Google’s online advertising network, which includes ad manager, contributed 12% of revenue of the company in 2021.

Google has denied any wrongdoing in the management of its ad-tech business. He declined to respond to a request for comment on whether he planned to appeal the venue’s ruling, but said he would “continue to set the record straight and show how we compete fairly in a crowded and highly dynamic industry.”

Virginia federal court has a reputation for being a “rocket” that resolves cases quickly. The New York courthouse is dealing with similar lawsuits, but from many plaintiffs, including a case filed by the Texas attorney general in 2020. It is expected to move more slowly.

Eric Mahra lawyer for Google, argued that there was a risk that the two courts would issue conflicting rulings.

Julia Wood, a Justice Department attorney, said the federal government would not be efficient if it were required to join the larger case being heard in New York.

Wood also said there were “significant differences” between the Justice Department case and many of the New York cases. “We respectfully request the court to maintain jurisdiction,” she told a hearing.