(Adds comment from Google)
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The Daily Mail, owner of
the MailOnline newspaper, sued Google on Tuesday, alleging that
the search and advertising giant's power over selling online ad
space means newspapers see little of the revenue their content
produces.
The federal lawsuit against Google and its parent, Alphabet
Inc, alleges that Google controls the tools used to
sell ad inventory as well as the space on publishers' pages
where ads can be placed and the exchange that decides where ads
will be placed.
"The lack of competition for publishers’ inventory depresses
prices and reduces the amount and quality of news available to
readers, but Google ends up ahead because it controls a growing
share of the ad space that remains," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New
York by the British-based company, also said that Google
"punished" publishers who "do not submit to its practices."
Google called the lawsuit's claims "meritless" and
"inaccurate."
"The use of our ad tech tools has no bearing on how a
publisher's website ranks in Google Search," Google said in a
statement that said publishers had many options to sell ad
space. "The Daily Mail itself authorizes dozens of ad tech
companies to sell and manage their ad space, including Amazon,
Verizon and more."
Google faces similar allegations in a lawsuit filed by Texas
and a group of other states in December. That
lawsuit is one of a series filed against Google and Facebook Inc
late last year.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers led by Senator Amy
Klobuchar and Representative David Cicilline introduced
legislation in March aimed at making it easier for news
organizations to negotiate collectively with platforms like
Google and Facebook in hopes of boosting revenues.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Associated Newspapers Ltd
and Mail Media Inc, which publish MailOnline.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and
Jonathan Oatis)