Google faces new legal pressure
A rival Android app store, Aptoide, sued Google in the U.S., alleging illegal monopolisation of app distribution and billing, and advertisers are reportedly preparing mass arbitration claims worth billions tied to earlier antitrust findings. At the same time, industry reporting suggests Meta may be on track to overtake Google in global ad revenue, adding a commercial angle to the legal challenges. (reuters.com, searchengineland.com)
Google is facing a fresh antitrust suit over Android apps just as advertisers line up new claims over its ad business. (reuters.com) Aptoide, a Lisbon-based Android app store, sued Google in federal court in San Francisco on April 14, saying Google illegally monopolized Android app distribution and in-app billing. Aptoide said it had about 436,000 apps and more than 200 million annual users by 2024, and asked for an injunction plus triple damages. (reuters.com) The complaint says Google blocks rival stores from getting the scale they need by steering developers and users toward Google Play and other Google services. Google said Android users can download apps from many sources and that competition has kept the ecosystem “open and vibrant.” (reuters.com) A separate fight is building in advertising, where Search Engine Land reported on April 14 that advertisers are preparing mass arbitration claims worth billions of dollars. The outlet said those claims are tied to court findings that Google held illegal monopolies in parts of its ad technology business. (searchengineland.com, justice.gov) That ad technology business is the software that helps websites sell ad space and helps advertisers buy it. On April 17, 2025, a federal judge found Google liable for maintaining monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising, according to the Department of Justice. (justice.gov) Google is also still dealing with the fallout from the government’s search case. The Department of Justice said a court ruled on August 5, 2024 that Google illegally maintained monopolies in general search and search text advertising, and later imposed remedies affecting distribution deals for Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app. (justice.gov, justice.gov) The commercial backdrop has shifted too. Emarketer said on April 13 that Meta is on track to overtake Google in both global and United States digital ad revenue in 2026, forecasting $243.46 billion for Meta and $239.54 billion for Google worldwide. (emarketer.com) That would mark the first time Google loses the top spot in digital advertising revenue, according to Emarketer’s forecast. It does not change Google’s legal cases, but it adds pressure as courts, rivals, and advertisers all push on different parts of the company at once. (emarketer.com, reuters.com, searchengineland.com)
