Advertisers sue Google en masse

Google is facing a new wave of private antitrust claims as advertisers move their cases into mass arbitration after two federal courts found parts of its ad business were illegal monopolies. (bloomberg.com) (justice.gov) Bloomberg reported on April 14 that the claims could total billions of dollars, with advertisers banding together to seek payouts tied to Google’s search and advertising technology businesses. The report said companies that bought ads through Google, including USA Today owner Gannett and Advance Publications, are among the businesses pursuing claims. (bloomberg.com) The arbitration push follows a January 2025 ruling by Judge P. Kevin Castel in the Southern District of New York sending some advertiser antitrust claims out of court and into arbitration under Google’s ad terms. Google’s current advertising program terms say disputes must be resolved through binding individual arbitration unless the advertiser opted out within 30 days. (mediapost.com) (payments.google.com) The court findings underneath those claims came in two separate monopoly cases. On August 5, 2024, Judge Amit Mehta ruled in Washington that Google illegally maintained monopolies in general search and general search text ads, and on April 17, 2025, Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in Virginia that Google violated antitrust law in open-web digital advertising markets. (congress.gov) (justice.gov) Those rulings gave private advertisers and publishers a road map: government prosecutors proved monopoly liability first, and private plaintiffs are now trying to convert those findings into money damages. In October 2025, Judge Castel also ruled that findings from the Virginia ad-tech case could have binding effect in private damages litigation in New York. (ppc.land) (courtlistener.com) Google has said it disagrees with the monopoly rulings and plans to appeal. After the Virginia decision, the company said publishers have many options and choose Google’s tools because they are “simple, affordable and effective,” according to coverage of the case. (cnbc.com) (variety.com) The business pressure is building at the same time as the legal pressure. Emarketer said on April 13 that Meta is projected to end 2026 with $243.46 billion in global net digital ad revenue, ahead of Google’s projected $239.54 billion. (reuters.com) (emarketer.com) Emarketer also said Meta is on track to pass Google in the United States, not just worldwide, helped by advertiser adoption of Meta’s Advantage+ automated ad tools. That forecast does not decide the lawsuits, but it shows Google fighting claims over its old dominance while rivals gain share in the ad market it long led. (emarketer.com) (reuters.com) What happens next is less about one courtroom than thousands of contracts. If advertisers keep filing one-by-one arbitration demands, Google could be forced to defend the monopoly fallout case by case, company by company. (bloomberg.com) (payments.google.com)