Rumble, a Toronto-headquartered video-sharing platform, has taken legal action against tech giant Google, alleging anticompetitive behaviour within its digital advertising products. As reported by Reuters, the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks damages exceeding $1 billion.
According to Rumble, Google has established a monopoly within the ad stack by acquiring various companies along the advertising chain. This strategy allows Google to represent both ad buyers and sellers while operating the exchange connecting these parties. Additionally, Rumble accuses Google of colluding with Meta's Facebook to hinder alternatives to Google's ad tech ecosystem.
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How Has Google Responded?
In response to these allegations, Google refuted Rumble's claims, asserting that the video-sharing platform utilises numerous competing ad services alongside Google's ad manager. A Google spokesperson emphasised the benefits of their advertising products for publishers, stating that publishers retain the majority of revenue when utilising Google tools.
This isn't the first time Rumble has taken legal action against Google. A previous lawsuit filed in 2021 accused Google of bias towards its video-sharing platform, YouTube, in search results.
The US Justice Department also intervened last year, filing a separate advertising lawsuit against Google, alleging the abuse of its dominance in the digital advertising sector. The department argued for the divestment of Google's ad manager suite, which contributes significantly to the tech giant's revenue.
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Earlier this year, in February, Google agreed to settle a lawsuit worth $350 million, resolving allegations from shareholders regarding a security vulnerability in its former social media platform, Google+. The settlement, announced after more than a year of mediation, awaits approval from US District Judge Trina Thompson, according to Reuters.
The lawsuit revolves around claims that Google was aware of a software glitch dating back to March 2018, which exposed the personal data of Google+ users over a three-year period.
Despite this knowledge, the company allegedly chose to keep the information under wraps for several months, despite publicly advocating its commitment to data security. Shareholders contended that Google's silence on the matter stemmed from concerns about potential regulatory and public backlash similar to that faced by Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016.