A West Virginia news editor has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook, which together receive about half of all digital advertising dollars in the U.S. and face antitrust charges from federal and state authorities.
The company, HD Media, owns several papers in the state, including the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington and the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
HD Media claims that Google has monopolized the online advertising market so much that it “threatens the extinction of local newspapers across the country.” The lawsuit also alleges that Google and Facebook conspired to promote their domain with a secret deal, referring to a lawsuit filed by 10 Republican attorneys general in December.
The company does not specify the impact on its business of Facebook and Google’s behavior beyond saying that it has impaired its ability to “effectively monetize its content” because Google is empowered to earn a non-competitive share of advertising revenue. the news editor. A company attorney declined to speak at the registry.
It is the first antitrust lawsuit against a technology platform focused on news publishing, said David Chavern, head of the news commercial group News Media Alliance. He said the group was not involved in the lawsuit.
HD Media went to federal court in West Virginia and asked for a jury trial. He sought unspecified damages and for the court to stop Google and Facebook from the uncompetitive conduct he alleges.
The newspaper industry has experienced a long decline, with heavy job losses and publications shrinking and even disappearing. Online advertising revenue could not make up for the loss of print ads.
Federal and state antitrust authorities have sued both Google and Facebook in recent months. The Justice Department alleges that Google abuses its domain in online search and advertising.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google referred a journalist to a blog post published in mid-January by its economic policy director Adam Cohen, who defends Google’s business against antitrust charges filed by the Texas attorney general in December.