Reuters :
Chief executives of Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook were aware of a deal to carve up part of the online advertising market, according to an amended antitrust complaint filed by Texas and 15 other states against Google.
The deal with Facebook, which Google dubbed “Jedi Blue,” was “signed off” by Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on an email thread discussing it, they said in their third amended complaint.
Google said the complaint’s assertion “isn’t accurate,” and that the complaint itself is “full of inaccuracies.”
“We intend to file a motion to dismiss next week,” a Google spokesperson said.
Facebook, which has since become Meta Platforms Inc, said in a statement that the deal was not exclusive to Google, and that other agreements have increased competition for ad placements. It said it was better for advertisers “while fairly compensating publishers.”
Facebook has not been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The deal was allegedly struck as part of Google’s effort to counter header bidding, which publishers wanted to use to make more money from advertising placed on their websites, the filing said.
