San Francisco: Google reportedly offered the US government to split its ad-tech business, which allows companies to place ads on Internet and apps, into a separate entity under the Alphabet umbrella, to avoid an antitrust lawsuit.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal was part of multiple concessions the tech giant offered the US Department of Justice to avoid lawsuits alleging anti-competitive practices.
The US Justice Department is conducting a probe into allegations that "Google abuses its role as both a broker and auctioneer of digital advertisements to steer itself business at the expense of rivals", and preparing a lawsuit that could be announced soon.
In a 64 page complaint with 194 numbered items, the US Justice Department and 11 states sued Google in October 2020 for antitrust violations, alleging that it weaponised its dominance in online search and advertising to kill off competition and harm consumers.
The lawsuit marks the US government's biggest move since its case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. This comes after 15 months of investigation and could be the opening scene of more antitrust actions against other Big Tech companies.
Reacting to the WSJ report that came out on Friday, a Google spokesperson said that they have been engaging constructively with regulators to address their concerns.
"As we've said before, we have no plans to sell or exit this business. Rigorous competition in ad technology has made online ads more relevant, reduced fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers," the company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.
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