PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel accuses Google of stifling innovation as company seeks billions in damages over alleged adtech monopoly
US-based advertising exchange PubMatic has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of illegally monopolising the ad technology market and seeking billions of dollars in damages. The case follows a federal judge’s April ruling that Google had illegally monopolised ad exchanges and ad servers, with a separate trial this month set to determine whether Google should be forced to divest parts of its advertising business, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
“Every time we innovated, Google stacked the deck against us,” said PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel, stressing that the lawsuit is about restoring fairness in digital advertising.
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In an interview with Bloomberg, Goel explained that despite years of innovation, PubMatic was consistently held back by barriers created by Google’s dominance
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He argued that the lawsuit aims to ensure proper functioning of online advertising markets, not just financial compensation
PubMatic, which partners with websites to sell advertising, positions itself as a rival to Google Ad Manager (formerly DoubleClick). During last year’s antitrust trial, testimony revealed that Google had considered acquiring PubMatic in 2011 but chose instead to buy adtech company AdMeld.
The lawsuit comes as Google faces mounting regulatory scrutiny worldwide. Just last week, the European Union fined Google €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) for violating competition rules by favouring its own digital advertising services. The European Commission has ordered the company to end self-preferencing practices and eliminate conflicts of interest in the ad supply chain. Google, however, has called the decision “wrong” and announced plans to appeal, warning that the ruling could hurt thousands of European businesses.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump criticised the EU’s fine, calling it “unfair” and discriminatory against American companies. He warned of potential retaliatory tariffs if the penalty is not withdrawn, just days after hosting a White House dinner with tech CEOs, including Google’s Sundar Pichai, where he had praised the company for a recent legal victory.
