Google parent company Alphabet today reportedly asked the court to dismiss the latest amended class action lawsuit filed by a number of advertisers.
In 2021, a number of advertisers filed a class action lawsuit against Google, alleging that Google had abused its dominant position in digital advertising. The lawsuit was later dismissed by District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California.
But Freeman also preserved the plaintiffs’ opportunity to file another lawsuit. According to Freeman, the plaintiffs need to clarify which market they believe Google has monopolized; they also need to further explain why Google’s refusal to support a competitor’s advertising system is anti-competitive since antitrust law does not require the monopolist to assist a competitor’s survival.
In response to the amended class action filed by advertisers, Alphabet said the six advertisers who filed the class action cannot claim they were harmed by Google’s ad exchange because they did not participate in it.
Alphabet also said that five of the six advertisers waived their right to sue Google when they signed the terms of service. Instead, the terms call for binding arbitration to resolve the dispute.
For this reason, Alphabet asked the court to dismiss the advertisers’ lawsuit.
