A U.S. media company has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook.
HD Media, a West Virginia-based media company, is suing Google and Facebook, alleging that the companies’ anticompetitive business practices threaten the survival of local newspapers across the country.
HD Media, a publisher of daily and weekly newspapers, filed a lawsuit this week seeking a federal court ruling on whether the two Silicon Valley companies have violated antitrust laws. The lawsuit alleges that Google illegally exercised its monopoly power in the digital advertising market, preventing newspapers from competing in the marketplace and depriving them of a major source of revenue.
“The newspapers owned and operated by HD Media include The Herald-Dispatch, The Charleston Gazette-Mail “and the Wayne County News, among others.
The lawsuit filed by the company alleges that Google and Facebook “unlawfully conspired to engage in anticompetitive conduct” through a secret agreement code-named Jedi Blue. Details of the agreement were first disclosed when 10 state attorneys general sued Google in December last year. Google was then accused of repeatedly violating federal and state antitrust laws and consumer protection laws.
The Wall Street Journal saw an unredacted version of the indictment at the Time and reported that the 10 state Republican attorneys general, led by Texas, said Google and Facebook reached an agreement in September 2018 in which Facebook agreed not to compete with Google’s online advertising tools in exchange for special treatment when using those tools.
10 The state attorney general’s indictment says Google and Facebook were aware that their agreement could trigger an antitrust investigation and discussed how to respond. The formal indictment redacts much of this language.
“The lawsuit filed by HD Media alleges that newspapers in West Virginia and across the country are facing a “very real existential threat” due to alleged anti-competitive and monopolistic practices by Google and Facebook.
The lawsuit also alleges that without remedies, these newspapers will likely no longer exist and the people of West Virginia will no longer have newspapers to read.
The lawsuit also alleges that Google’s monopoly has created an uneven playing field for online advertising revenue. Google has consolidated itself through numerous mergers and acquisitions in order to gain control of the market.
“As revenues decline, newspapers are losing the ability to financially support their newsrooms, which are costly to maintain but provide tremendous value to communities. A strong local newsroom needs the financial freedom to support in-depth, sometimes years-long coverage and the ability to hire and retain reporters skilled in covering basic local issues, such as coverage of state government.”
“HD Media is seeking a court order declaring Google and Facebook’s actions to be in violation of the law and preventing them from engaging in further such conduct. The company is also seeking damages for any harm caused.
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