News Corp says it's being 'taken hostage'.

Therefore, Layser stated on the second day of the antitrust trial against Google in Virginia, USA: "I feel like they're holding us hostage."

Photo: GI

Layser, who worked in advertising technology at News Corp from 2017 to 2022, said Google claims it introduces features that benefit its clients. However, she said virtually no one in the industry uses any of the other features because Google's ad servers are linked to Google's ad exchange.

The trial is expected to last several weeks, during which the U.S. Department of Justice will seek to prove that Google has a monopoly on the market for publisher ad servers, advertiser ad networks, and ad exchanges connecting the two.

Documents presented in court by NewsCorp estimated that in 2016, the publisher earned $83.3 million from instant advertising sales through ad technology tools. More than half of those transactions took place through Google's advertising exchange, with $18.4 million coming from Google Ads advertisers.

NewsCorp estimates that about half of that, equivalent to $9 million, was Google's exclusive and would be lost if they switched to another product. Layser said that at the time she left, about 70-80% of NewsCorp's advertising deals were through Google's advertising platform.

In response to the allegations, Google stated that the claim was based on an outdated view of the industry and that large news organizations use an average of six different platforms to sell advertising, with over 80 such services available.

At the trial, prosecutors are seeking to prove that Google used its dominant position in technology over publishers and advertisers to prevent them from using other tools and potentially lower advertising bids through competitors' products.

Layser is the second news organization witness to testify at this trial. Tim Wolfe, an advertising director at Gannett, testified on Monday that the company had used Google's ad servers for about 13 years and had no practical alternative.

If District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema finds that Google has violated the law, she will consider the prosecutor's request to compel Google to at least sell Google Ad Manager, a platform that includes Google's ad servers and advertising exchange.

Hoang Hai (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phien-toa-xet-xu-google-doc-quyen-quang-cao-news-corp-noi-nhu-bi-bat-lam-con-tin-post311712.html