The Justice Department’s second monopoly case against Google got underway Monday in a Virginia court, with federal prosecutors taking aim this time at the internet giant’s lucrative business as the middleman for online ads. The case could be a boon for major news organizations, including Gannett, News Corp. and the Guardian, as well as The Washington Post. Such outlets pay Google a cut of revenue for brokering their website ads, and many of then have struggled with their finances in the digital age. Google’s rivals in this sector, Meta and Amazon, also stand to gain if Google loses the case. Prosecutors say Google has abused its monopoly power over the online ad market, dominating it to such an extent that a Google executive once ventured to ask in an internal email if it presented a legal problem, saying, “The analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE,” referring to the New York Stock Exchange. The result, prosecutors allege, is higher prices for advertisers, yet fewer dollars for publishers, which in turn has meant poorer offerings of news and other content for readers. In her opening statement Monday, Justice Department attorney Julia Tarver Wood said Google has dominated the sector through acquisitions until it could manipulate the rules of ad auctions to its own benefit. “Publishers were understandably furious,” Wood said. “The evidence will show that they could do nothing.” Google has called the allegations “wrong on the facts,” declaring to Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that “success is not illegal.” The company says that customers choose Google because its services are the best and that it faces a robust field of competition.

Full report : The US DOJ’s case against Google’s ad business may benefit Meta, Amazon, and news organizations that pay Google a cut of revenue for brokering their website ads.