The Atlantic, Penske, and Vox Media have sued Google for antitrust violations

Lawsuits seeking damages from Google’s illegal ad tech monopoly are piling up following the Justice Department’s lawsuit Successful antitrust case. fox media, Edge Parent company, is the latest in A wave of media companies Which sued Google, seeking compensation for monopoly profits the tech company allegedly made at the expense of publishers.

“In the absence of Google’s conduct, Vox Media would be able to provide more high-quality impressions for purchase on Vox Media’s web pages and create more premium, high-quality journalism,” Vox Media claims in its lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York. atlantic ocean, Penske Media, owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, filed a similar lawsuit in the same district this week, as did Penske Media, an investor in Vox Media that owns brands including rolling Stone, and Hollywood Reporter. Google is also facing lawsuits from ad tech providers like PubMatic and OpenX, some of whom testified at trial about how Google’s dominance closes competition.

(Edge The newsroom is editorially independent from Vox Media’s business decisions and was not involved in the decision to file this lawsuit. You can read our ethics policy here.)

The lawsuits emphasize the ways in which the high-tech subject of Trial 2024 It impacts the ecosystem of publishers and technology providers. For example, the media company’s complaints show how Google’s illegal monopoly on the market for publisher ad servers, used to manage advertising space for sale on publishers’ websites, effectively discouraged any viable competitors they might consider moving in. Publishers also claim that this dominance allows Google to “reduce publishers’ inventory prices below competitive levels,” ultimately depriving them of greater revenue, while being “unable to negotiate the terms of their ad-serving agreements.” All lawsuits involve similar claims under federal antitrust law and New York business law.

Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in early 2025 that the Department of Justice successfully proved that it illegally monopolized the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges, which facilitate ad transactions. Brinkema also found that Google had illegally tied the two products together, making it very difficult for publishers to switch providers. But it also ruled in favor of Google on one consideration, finding that the Justice Department had not shown that it had a monopoly on the market for advertiser purchasing tools.

“Vox Media’s quality journalism is funded by our ability to sell digital advertising against our content, and by engaging in more than a decade of anticompetitive and illegal conduct, Google has deprived Vox Media of those revenues,” Lauren Stark, Vox Media’s head of communications, said in a statement. “In filing this lawsuit, we are seeking monetary damages and an end to Google’s deceptive and manipulative practices in order to protect our ability to continue investing in the trusted content our audiences depend on.”

Google spokesperson Jackie Berti called the allegations “baseless” in a statement. “Advertisers and publishers have many options, and when they choose Google ad tech tools, it’s because they’re effective, affordable, and easy to use.” The Atlantic and Penske Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Brinkema is expected to do so Ruling this year In the second phase of the experiment, which focused on what Google should be asked to do to restore competition to the markets it had monopolized. The ruling could result in anything from new restrictions on Google’s behavior to… Break up One of its advertising technology works.