WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google (NASDAQ:) asked a Virginia federal court on Friday to dismiss a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the advertising and search company of anti-competitive practices in the online advertising market.
The government, which filed the ad tech lawsuit in January 2023 along with eight states, accused the company of abusing its dominance in the digital advertising business and said it should be forced to sell its ad manager stake. Google’s online advertising network, which includes the advertising manager, contributed 12% of the company’s revenue in 2021.
Google argues that the Justice Department’s case goes “beyond the scope of antitrust law,” saying it does not prohibit the internet company’s conduct at issue.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its statement, Google argued that the government’s case was “doomed” because it attacked businesses’ actions that “are legitimate choices about who to do business with and product improvements that benefit Google’s customers.”
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in federal court in Virginia has set a trial in the Justice Department case for September. The judge has the power to narrow the scope of the claim before trial begins or to dismiss the case entirely. Both parties may seek summary judgment based on the facts of the case.
Google faces trial separately in March 2025 in federal court in Texas in a lawsuit brought by Texas and other states that accuses the company of abusing its dominance in digital advertising.