Google's Advertising Business Exempted, Amazon Faces FTC Lawsuit
Google has been granted another chance to keep its advertising business intact after a federal judge ruled against breaking it up. However, this decision comes with conditions as Google will have to implement behavioral remedies to address anticompetitive concerns. This is the second time the government has found Google guilty of operating a monopoly but declined to take meaningful action.
Meanwhile, Amazon faces a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 state attorneys general accusing it of operating a fake bidder that placed bids closer to the winning price, making advertisers pay tens of billions more than they should have for Sponsored Product placements on Amazon.
The FTC alleges that this tactic netted Amazon about $20 billion in revenue since 2019. This lawsuit marks another chapter in the ongoing battle between Big Tech companies and regulatory bodies who demand transparency and fairness from them.