The second antitrust lawsuit against Google, the world's largest search engine, by the federal government began on September 9.

This case follows a ruling last month by the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., declaring Google a monopoly. The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), accuses Google of violating antitrust laws by stifling competition in the online advertising market through acquisitions of related companies. In January last year, the DOJ initiated the suit, claiming Google violated antitrust laws.

Previously, in October 2020, the DOJ also sued Google, alleging the company hindered competition in the search engine market by paying large sums to companies like Apple to set Google as the default search engine. The DOJ won that case on September 5. The DOJ argued that Google “controlled competitors and customers, monopolizing every aspect of online ad technology,” while Google countered that it faces “intense competition.”

The DOJ further claimed that Google takes up to 36 cents for every dollar in ad transactions by dominating software used in both buying and selling ads. If the DOJ wins, Google may be forced to sell its ad management platform, Google Ad Manager, which would deal a significant blow to the company, as advertising revenue makes up a large portion of its income. In the second quarter (April-June) of this year, Google earned $64.62 billion in ad revenue out of a total of $84.74 billion in sales.