Gannett sues Google, Alphabet claiming they have a monopoly on digital advertising

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN
AP Business Writer

Gannett is suing Google and its parent company Alphabet, claiming that they unlawfully acquired and maintain monopolies on the advertising technology tools that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell online ad space. The publisher of USA Today alleges in the suit that Google controls how publishers sell their ad slots and forces them to sell an increasing amount of ad space to Google at lower prices. This in turn results in less revenue for publishers and Google’s ad-tech rivals and more money for Google. Gannett CEO Mike Reed said in an opinion piece published Tuesday in USA Today that the company wants to “restore fair competition in a digital advertising marketplace that Google has demolished.”