Google and Facebook have agreed to share a share of the online advertising market
Several US states, including Texas, have made "antitrust allegations" that the chief executives of the two companies knew about it.
Countries around the world, including the United States, have laws that prevent an organization or its affiliates from creating a monopoly on the market. In the United States it is called the Antitrust Act. Its main purpose is to maintain competition in the market so that the consumer class benefits.
If the agreement between Google and Facebook is found to be in direct violation of the antitrust law and the allegations are substantiated, the accused company may face severe penalties.
Plaintiffs allege that the deal, called JD Blue, was discussed by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg in an email thread. Allegedly, Google CEO Sundar Pichai "signed off" during the talks, CNN reported.
The significance of this information given by the plaintiffs is that the chief executives of both the organizations were aware of the matter. However, Facebook is not named as the accused in the case.
Following the lawsuit, Google said the allegations were "incorrect" and that the allegations themselves were "full of errors."
A Google spokesman said they wanted to "apply for dismissal next week."
Facebook, which became Meta Inc. after that time, said it was not a separate deal for Google and that other deals in this category have increased competition in the advertising market.
Allegedly, the agreement was made by Google to block an ad selection system called 'Header Bidding'. Website owners used header bidding for ads on their sites, threatening Google's revenue, and feared that Google's advertising revenue would drop by 19 to 22 percent.
As part of the removal of header bidding, it became imperative for Google to enter into an agreement with Facebook. Facebook supported header bidding.
And, finally, Google and Facebook have reached an agreement at the highest level.
"After the deal, Facebook reduced its involvement with header bidding in exchange for information, speed and other benefits."
As part of the deal, the two online platforms agreed on how often Facebook ads would win publisher auctions.
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