Rumble Sues Google Over Ad Practice, Alleges $1bn Damages

Video-sharing platform Rumble has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of engaging in anticompetitive practices within its digital advertising products.

According to Axios, the suit claims that Google has monopolized the ad stack by acquiring companies throughout the advertising supply chain, representing both buyers and sellers, and operating the exchange that connects them.

Rumble seeks damages exceeding $1 billion and alleges that the Google's agreement with Meta's Facebook further solidifies its monopoly by preventing Facebook from offering alternatives to Google's ad tech ecosystem.

Google denies these claims, asserting that Rumble utilizes numerous competing ad services alongside Google's ad manager and that its advertising products benefit publishers and help fund their online content. Google emphasizes that publishers retain the majority of revenue when utilizing its tools.

This lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, marks the second time Rumble has taken legal action against Google. A previous lawsuit filed in 2021 accused Google of favoring its own video-sharing platform, YouTube, in search results.

The U.S. Justice Department also sued Google last year, alleging abuse of dominance in the digital advertising market and seeking the forced sale of its ad manager suite.