Advertisers, rivals press Google

Google is facing a new wave of antitrust fallout as advertisers prepare mass arbitration claims and app store rival Aptoide sues. (searchengineland.com) (money.usnews.com) Attorney Ashley Keller told Search Engine Land the first advertiser filings are expected this week, and he said his firm’s economic analysis put potential search and display advertising claims above $218 billion. Google said in a recent filing that it faces private damages claims tied to antitrust cases worldwide but cannot yet estimate losses. (searchengineland.com) Mass arbitration means many separate claims move at once instead of one by one. Search Engine Land said advertiser contracts with Google generally require arbitration, and Keller said that structure could let even smaller ad buyers pursue damages together. (searchengineland.com) The advertiser push follows two major court losses for Google. A federal judge in Washington ruled in August 2024 that Google illegally maintained monopolies in general search and search text advertising, and a federal judge in Virginia ruled on April 17, 2025 that Google monopolized key publisher ad server and ad exchange markets and unlawfully tied products together. (justice.gov) (stblaw.com) In the search case, the Justice Department said on September 2, 2025 that the court barred Google from maintaining exclusive distribution contracts tied to Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app, and ordered Google to share some search index and user-interaction data with rivals. Those remedies turned the monopoly finding into operating rules that competitors can now point to in private cases. (justice.gov) Aptoide’s suit opens a separate front in Android. Reuters reported on April 14 that the Portuguese company accused Google of monopolizing Android app distribution and billing and said Google’s conduct shut out smaller app store rivals. (money.usnews.com) Aptoide said it is the world’s third-largest Android app store and that it would have put more pressure on Google’s prices and policies without what it called Google’s “anticompetitive chokehold.” Reuters said the case was filed in federal court in San Francisco and seeks unspecified treble damages and injunctive relief. (money.usnews.com) Google is contesting both tracks. Search Engine Land reported that Google plans to defend the arbitration claims aggressively, and Reuters said Google called Aptoide’s complaint meritless and said Android supports competition among app stores and preloaded apps. (searchengineland.com) (money.usnews.com) The next test is whether antitrust wins by regulators can be turned into money and market access by private plaintiffs. The first arbitration filings are expected this week, while Aptoide’s case starts a new court fight over how Android apps are distributed and paid for. (searchengineland.com) (money.usnews.com)