Google Faces Monopoly Allegations and Mishandling of Personal Data

In just six months, Google has been at the center of two major court cases. The company is accused of violating antitrust laws and mishandling user data.

Recently, a federal court found Google guilty of monopolistic practices in online advertising. The case concerns how Google tied its ad server to its internal exchange, restricting choices for publishers and advertisers.

Judge Leonie Brinkema noted that such actions allowed Google to control the market, suppress competition, and extract monopolistic profits. The ruling affects a $31 billion segment of the advertising business.

Previously, Google had already been declared a monopoly in the internet search market. Another case may even result in demands to split the company and sell the Chrome browser.

Google insists its technologies are accessible and convenient, and that government actions may harm small businesses and innovation. Nonetheless, the court pointed out that Google's platform harms competitors and publishers.

Meanwhile, a case concerning improper collection of user data despite disabled tracking settings is ongoing. A jury trial is scheduled for August.

The lawsuit centers on the Web & App Activity feature, which allegedly continued collecting data even after users disabled it. The judge found Google's behavior potentially offensive to reasonable users.

Internal documents caused particular concern, showing that Google employees knowingly presented data collection practices in a vague way to avoid alarming users.

This is not the first such case: previously, Google agreed to delete billions of records to settle a dispute over Chrome’s Incognito mode.

Both cases raise serious questions about transparency and market dominance. For Google, the risks are reputational and financial.

(Automatic translation)