Provide-side platform OpenX is suing Google, alleging that the tech large engaged in a variety of anti-competitive behaviors by way of its adtech enterprise that in the end harmed OpenX’s enterprise.
Within the lawsuit, filed Monday within the U.S. District Courtroom for the Jap District of Virginia, OpenX claims that Google has used self-preferencing practices that make it troublesome for different advert exchanges and advert servers like OpenX to compete on a degree enjoying area.
“Google’s conduct has stifled innovation, harmed competitors, decreased product high quality, and triggered important harm to OpenX, in addition to to Google’s personal writer and advertiser prospects,” OpenX wrote within the lawsuit.
The adtech firm alleges that Google disallowed publishers from setting value flooring that may incentivize the usage of rival advert exchanges—even when publishers needed to.
Google additionally required publishers to make use of its advert server, DoubleClick for Publishers, as a way of income technology for its advert change whereas limiting entry to its AdWords platform (now Google Advertisements) solely by way of its advert change, the lawsuit claims.
OpenX additionally alleges that Google’s advert change impeded rival exchanges’ means to win transactions by manipulating costs in digital advert auctions in response to opponents’ bids.
“They actually rigged digital promoting auctions to the drawback of all their opponents,” OpenX CEO John Gentry advised ADWEEK. “The basic instance is, as a result of they managed the auctions on the advert server degree, they modified the auctions such that they may see all of the bids that got here in after which resolve to switch the Google bid after the actual fact, which allowed them to win a far bigger variety of transactions than any of the opponents as a result of the public sale was merely not a good public sale.”
On account of Google’s practices, in line with OpenX, it was pressured to shutter its advert server in mid-2019. Its advert change enterprise has additionally suffered, as has its “means to compete,” Gentry mentioned.
The lawsuit comes lower than 4 months after a federal decide issued a landmark ruling in favor of the U.S. Justice Division, figuring out that Google operates an unlawful monopoly in writer advert servers and advert exchanges.
OpenX is hopeful that momentum from that case bodes effectively for its possibilities.
The adtech agency is hoping for 2 key outcomes from its resolution to sue Google, Gentry mentioned: “One is to get well damages for the hurt that was performed to OpenX by Google’s anticompetitive habits, and the second is to search for a judgment to cease these sorts of behaviors going ahead.”
OpenX didn’t specify the quantity in damages it’s looking for.
In a weblog publish revealed Monday morning, the corporate famous that it “continues to work with Google right this moment and companions with them throughout a number of areas of our enterprise, together with Cloud, DV360, and GAM. … We worth these relationships the place they assist our operations and serve our prospects.”
Google declined ADWEEK’s request for remark.
