Advertisers could recoup a chunk of their Google ad spend, lawyers say

Several law firms around the country are recruiting clients who bought Google search or display ads between August 2016 and the present, saying they may be eligible for payouts from the tech giant. 

What’s happening: The U.S. government, joined by several states, has brought two separate antitrust cases against Google. In 2024, a federal judge ruled that Google had illegally monopolized online search and search advertising, while in 2025, another federal judge ruled that the company had illegally monopolized certain digital advertising technology. 

• In both cases, the Department of Justice argued that Google’s monopoly power allowed it to charge advertisers more than they would have paid in a competitive market.
• The courts are now forcing Google to change some of its business practices, but advertisers seeking compensation for alleged overcharges must go through arbitration rather than the courts, as specified in Google’s advertising…