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June 07, 2024
Google gets what it wants in its antitrust trial, and that sucks for transparency
Hey folks!
Sarah Kay Wiley, Policy Director, here with some frustrating news: District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema has granted Google's motion to strike the jury request in the upcoming DoJ v. Google adtech trial.
This means the trial will continue as a bench trial, decided by Judge Brinkema. The trial is scheduled for Sept. 9, pending the outcome of some pretrial hearings next week.
The big takeaway: Google's check sent to the DoJ worked. Once again we see Big Tech buying its way out of explaining its behavior to the very consumers it says it serves.
The legal nitty gritty:The DoJ could only request a jury if they could show the federal government was a victim of the antitrust violation and there was a live question around damages (aka 💰). But Google's sneaky check to the DoJ for the damages they sought essentially settled that question and so, we are left with no jury and one judge deciding the rest of the case.
One other note:As this case is now a bench trial, it is extra important that transparency not take a back seat. We’ll soon be launching a website dedicated to covering this trial along with several of our partners.
Arielle Garcia, Director of Intelligence, had a busy week! Appearing at AdMonsters Ops and AdZine Connect, she told both publishers and marketers what they needed to — not necessarily wanted to — hear.
The giant, floating head of Arielle has judged you and found you wanting.
Claire x TEDx
Claire’s speaking at TEDx MidAtlantic tomorrow! She’d love for you to come if you're in the Washington area. You can get tickets at https://tedxmidatlantic.com, and use discount code 2024SPEAKERS to take $20 off the price! On the agenda: the ominously named Marketing Funnel of Bigotry.
Arielle pops up with a quote in this Business Insider story about how verification companies DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science are coming under more and more scrutiny.
That’s it from us for this week. Have a great weekend, and we’ll be back in your inboxes soon!
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