CNBC: Sundar Pichai, President of Alphabet and Google interviewing Deirdre Bosa.
Google has offered to split its advertising business division into a separate company under its parent company Alphabet to avoid a second lawsuit expected to be filed by the Justice Department, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. ‘in.
Such a discount would keep the advertising business under the umbrella of Alphabet but still represents a major change in the digital advertising environment, with Google being a major player on both sides of the market. Known as the search engine, Google’s main business is online advertising. Alphabet reported $ 257 billion in revenue for 2021.
But it is unknown whether the offer will satisfy the DOJ.
The head of the department’s anti-corruption commission, Jonathan Kanter, insisted he preferred to go to court rather than agree to a settlement. Kanter said in a speech to the New York Antitrust Association in January that published court opinions are important to move the law forward.
“In short, we will pursue the solution – not compromise. We cannot compromise if the law is violated,” Kanter said at the time.
Kanter has been suspended from acting on Google’s investigation while the DOJ decides whether he should withdraw from his previous work with Google’s rivals, according to a May report from Bloomberg citing sources who their names are not disclosed. The DOJ has not confirmed the report. But it seems his colleagues leading the study would respect his philosophy if so.
The newspaper reports that a new breach of trust in Google’s advertising business could come as soon as this summer, according to sources.
A DOJ spokesman declined to comment to CNBC on the report.
“We have been working with managers to address their concerns,” a Google spokesman said in a statement to CNBC. “As we have said before, we have no plans to sell or withdraw from this business, and we are very committed to providing value to a wide range of book publishing partners and advertisers in a highly profitable arena.”
However, according to the newspaper report, Google’s decision would include keeping the advertising business under one owner, not selling it at all. The spokesman declined to comment on the specific issue.
Created in 2015, Letters is essentially a Google company, which generates almost all of its revenue and profits. Google has always positioned itself as a technology company and has invested in far-reaching technologies – such as internet research, phones, personal data, automotive and healthcare technology.
Google has launched other businesses, such as its self-driving car company Waymo and its life sciences company Verily, while keeping them under the umbrella of Alphabet.
Google has been the market leader in online advertising for over a decade. Over the years, he has built and developed advertising tools that allow content publishers to earn money through advertising and let advertisers find their target audience on Google Search, YouTube, Maps and other websites site across the internet.
A new lawsuit will add to the huge legal challenge facing Google over its alleged dominance of several businesses.
The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020, the first time Google has been charged with treason at the federal level in its country.
Google is also facing various lawsuits from the country’s top law firm, including the Texas-led one, which alleges abuse of the online advertising market.
The company has also been investigated outside the United States, particularly in Europe, where it has been charged with a number of competing charges, including the purchase of a price comparison service approved by a European court.
WATCH: Google is facing a rapid increase in litigation as antitrust surveys increase
