Democrats push for federal probe of alleged ad collusion between Google and Facebook

Four Democratic members of Congress are calling for an investigation into whether an alleged secret 2018 agreement between Google and Facebook concerning digital advertising violated federal antitrust law. Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep Mondaire Jones (D-NY) wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Acting US Attorney General Nicholas Ganjei asking them to determine whether federal charges might be warranted. Attorneys General in ten states filed suit against Google in December 2020 over a program reportedly nicknamed “Jedi Blue." The Texas attorney general’s office led the suit, alleging that Facebook and Google worked to sabotage “header bidding,” which allows advertisers, including competitors, to bypass Google’s ad auctions. Both companies strenuously deny any wrongdoing, and have issued detailed rebuttals to the charges.