The first damages claims over Google's ad tech monopoly are going to a jury. On September 30 the federal court in New York that handles the private cases against Google rejected most of Google's attempt to end the publishers' cases before trial, kept the publishers' economists in, and sent claims they put at more than $3.2 billion, before trebling under the antitrust laws, toward jury trials. Advertisers are not in that case. The same court has refused to certify an advertiser class and has sent advertisers to arbitration, so an advertiser's overcharge claim moves only if the advertiser files it. That is the claim we bring for our clients.
What the court decided
A certified class of US publishers that sold display inventory through Google's ad exchange (AdX) from December 2016 through March 2024 can present its economist's $1.72 billion overcharge figure, built on AdX taking roughly 20% of each transaction against a 10% benchmark. USA Today Co. (Gannett) and the Daily Mail, which sued separately, can present about $900 million and $600 million. The two publishers can also raise conduct the Virginia case never ruled on to a jury, including Project Bernanke and Project Poirot. Google won a few points: the big publishers' New York consumer protection claims were dismissed, a small AdSense publisher lost, and a video ad company lost its federal claims. The court had already ruled in October 2025 that Google cannot relitigate Judge Brinkema's findings that it monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.
What it means for advertisers
Three parts of the ruling bear on advertiser claims.
- Evidence that Google manipulated advertiser bids is headed to a public trial. Drawing on Google's own documents, the court described the publishers' account of Project Bernanke: Google used its Google Ads buying tool to raise and lower advertiser bids on AdX, kept the difference in pools, and used those pools to subsidize bids where rival exchanges were competing. Internal Google emails quoted in the opinion compare it to a "bidding ring," and the publishers' economist says advertisers were never told.
- Google's timing and geography defenses failed, for now. The court let a jury decide whether the publishers' claims are too old, noting that the class filings paused the four-year clock, that later changes to the auction programs can count as new violations, and that concealment can support tolling. It also rejected Google's argument that losses outside the United States are beyond US antitrust law, because Google is a US company and ran the conduct from the United States. Both points help advertisers with older spend or accounts billed outside the US, though Google will make the same arguments in every forum.
- One limit. The court held that Judge Brinkema's finding that Google Ads demand was largely confined to AdX is not a finding that Google unlawfully tied Google Ads to AdX. That theory has to be proven on its own.
Internal Google emails quoted in the opinion compare Project Bernanke to a "bidding ring," and the publishers' economist says advertisers were never told.
What the ruling does not do
It awards no money and decides no advertiser's claim. The publisher figures measure fees Google took from sellers and revenue they lost; an advertiser's claim is about what it paid. Like the Virginia remedies, this is a display advertising ruling. The search advertising findings from the Washington, D.C. case are untouched and remain the more direct foundation for claims built on search spend.
What happens next
No trial date yet. Google says it will appeal Judge Brinkema's liability ruling, which the New York cases depend on, so expect the court cases to run for a while. Arbitration claims move on their own schedule.
For current clients
Nothing new. Keep your Google Ads invoices, payment records, campaign reports and account agreements, and keep access to the account. If your business also sold display inventory through AdX between December 2016 and March 2024, you may get a notice in the publisher class case; that is separate from your advertiser claim, so let us know and we can talk it through.
If you advertised on Google and have not filed
This ruling does not change the path. There is no class action coming for advertisers, claims go through Google's mandated arbitration process, and we handle them on contingency. Write to hello@silverarbitration.com and we will walk you through it.
Sources: Opinion and Order, In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, No. 21-md-3010 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2026), ECF No. 2041; Bloomberg, "Google Faces $3.2 Billion Damage Claims on Ad-Tech Monopoly," October 2, 2026; PPC Land, "Google loses bid to end $1.5bn Gannett and Daily Mail ad tech suits," October 2, 2026.