NEWS & INSIGHT

State of Texas Retains Keller Postman to Bring Antitrust Litigation Against Google

December 17, 2020

The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas has retained national plaintiffs’ law firm Keller Postman LLC to represent the State in antitrust litigation against Google.

The suit, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Google monopolized or attempted to monopolize products and services used by advertisers and publishers in online-display advertising. The complaint also alleges that Google engaged in false, misleading and deceptive acts while selling, buying and auctioning online-display ads. These anticompetitive and deceptive practices demonstrably diminished publishers’ ability to monetize content, increased advertisers’ costs to advertise, and directly harmed consumers.

“We are honored to represent the State of Texas in its fight to stop Google’s unlawful conduct,” Keller Postman Partner Ashley Keller said.

According to the complaint, Google began its plan to control the display ad market in 2008 with its acquisition of DoubleClick, the leading provider of the tools online publishers use to sell graphical display advertising inventory on exchanges. Within a few short years, Google led the ad exchange market and demanded that sellers route their ad space to Google’s exchange. One industry publication put it succinctly: “The lack of competition was costing pub[s] cold hard cash.”

Google also entered into an unlawful agreement with rival Facebook to maintain control of the marketplace for header bidding. Collaboration of such magnitude between two competitors flies in the face of the antitrust laws.

Joined by Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah, Texas seeks to restore free and fair competition to these markets and to secure structural, behavioral and monetary relief to prevent Google from ever again engaging in deceptive trade practices and abusing its monopoly power. Keller Postman represents Texas alongside its co-counsel, The Lanier Law Firm.

Click here to read the full complaint.

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*As of April 2022, the firm has changed its name from Keller Lenkner to Keller Postman.

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