The Daily Mail Owner is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing Royals coverage

Daily Mail’s concerns stem in part from its assessment that coverage of the UK royal family in 2021 has been reduced in Google search results, a spokesman for the publisher said.

In a statement, a Google spokeswoman denied the allegations in the lawsuit. “The Daily Mail’s statements are completely inaccurate. Use of our advertising technology tools has no influence on how a publisher’s site ranks in Google Search. In general, we compete in a crowded and competitive advertising space where publishers have and exercise several options, “the statement said.

Publishers complain privately about Google’s dominance in search and advertising, but few are public about their grievances. In January, West Virginia’s parent company Charleston Gazette-Mail filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook Inc. Several other small publishers filed lawsuits against those two technology companies on Monday, citing an agreement between them codenamed “Jedi Blue”.

Separately, Google is facing antitrust lawsuits brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general in several states. The company denied abusing its market power and said the advertising technology market is competitive.

The UK-based Daily Mail, known for celebrity and pop culture news, has built one of the most read websites in the world, with 75 million unique monthly visitors to the US, according to the lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages . The lawsuit also calls on Google to discontinue its alleged misconduct and provide transparency in its news search algorithm.

Publishers have a complicated relationship with Google. The search engine of the technology company is a major source of web traffic for many sites, and most of the industry uses Google software to sell advertising space in advertising exchanges. But Google also competes with publishers for online advertising dollars and provides tools to ad buyers. Google had a share of nearly 29% of the digital advertising market in the US in 2020, according to research firm eMarketer.

In the lawsuit filed by the owner of Mail, Associated Newspapers Ltd., and its US unit, Mail Media Inc., the publisher claims that Google linked its search engine and advertising sales platform to put pressure on publishers, abusing the power its market.

In 2019, Google punished the Daily Mail in search results because the publisher set up its online ad sales in a way that removed its business from Google in many cases, according to the complaint. Later, Google modified its technology to counteract this tactic and restored the normal search performance of the Daily Mail, the process claims.

More recently, Daily Mail executives were disappointed that the site’s coverage of the royal family did not appear prominently in search results such as “Meghan and Harry”, “Piers Morgan” and “Prince Philip”, the bearer. the editor’s word said.

The lawsuit alleges that Google offered its online exchange special advantages over its rivals in advertising auctions. He cited the “Bernanke Project”, a secret program mentioned in a Texas lawsuit against Google, which allegedly allowed the company to obtain information about competitors’ bidding behavior. Google acknowledged the program’s existence, but denied that it was appropriate, saying rivals used comparable techniques.

The Daily Mail process also claims that Google’s plan to phase out “cookies” – bits of code used to track web users – in its Chrome web browser will make it harder for advertisers to target ads if do not buy through Google systems. Google said it is making the change to protect user privacy.

Even though they are worried about Google, many publishers are eager to give news to the tech giant in exchange for a fee. Google has begun licensing news for its Google News Showcase product. The Daily Mail did not accept any money from the News Showcase, according to a person familiar with the problem.

Write to Patience Haggin at [email protected]