Google arguments spark skepticism from judge in ad tech case

A federal judge has thrown cold water on one of Alphabet’s main arguments in a lawsuit filed with the Justice Department over allegations that Google monopolized ad technology.

During closing arguments in the lawsuit against the tech giant, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she disagreed with Google’s attempts to rely on a prior antitrust case involving American Express. The judge interrupted Google’s lawyer Monday to tell her she had carefully studied a 2018 Supreme Court decision in the older case.

“We’re dealing with a completely different setup here” than Amex, she said on the closing day of the trial in Alexandria, Virginia.