Google’s antitrust trial spotlights search ads on the final day of closing arguments

Ads took center stage today in Google’s antitrust trial, as the U.S. Dept. of Justice sought to show the search giant as the only player in a game with rising prices.

This morning, lawyers from the DOJ and a coalition of state attorneys said Google’s search advertising business has trapped advertisers into its ecosystem while higher ad prices haven’t led to higher returns. Closing arguments, which began yesterday, are expected to continue this afternoon. The case hinges on whether attorneys can prove Google violated U.S. antitrust law under the Sherman Act by having a monopoly on search while using market dominance to harm competition and consumers.

Citing testimony from major advertisers — including execs from JP Morgan, Angi and Kohl’s — the attorneys said companies continue spending millions of dollars on search without having viable alternatives with comparable volume. Issues mentioned include maxing out spend on alternatives like Bing, opaque ranking processes, questionable bidding systems.

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