Google Expert Testifies In Antitrust Trial: Gov't. Underestimates Online Ad Rivalry

Federal regulators claiming that Google holds an illegal monopoly over the technology that connects online advertisers to publishers are underestimating the competition Google faces, according to an expert hired by the company.

Google’s share of the US market was only 10% as of 2022, down from 15% a decade ago. I Photo: Jon Russell Flickr

Mark Israel, an economist who testified recently, said the government's focus on "open web display advertising" — the rectangular ads that appear on web pages — is too narrow, Matthew Barakat reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Israel argued that the government’s case ignores the broader competition in online advertising.

He explained that advertisers are increasingly shifting their spending to social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, and online retailers such as Amazon.

When considering all online display advertising, not just the government’s defined market segment, Google’s share of the US market was only 10% as of 2022, down from 15% a decade ago.

Israel added that marketing data shows that display ad spending on desktop and laptop devices has dropped from 71% in 2013 to 17% in 2022.