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Google · · 4 min read

Spaghetti Footballs of Antitrust

If you are like most sane people, the term "spaghetti football" means nothing. For adtech nerds, it is the recipe for dominance. Our recommendations of the best coverage of the US vs Google, LLC trial.

Spaghetti Footballs of Antitrust
In court, Google presented what's been dubbed the "spaghetti football" to showcase the supposed interconnectivity of the adtech market. Instead of clarifying, witnesses in court said the diagram highlighted just how much control Google exerts over the entire ecosystem. Check out the football below to see what I mean.
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Let's get you caught up.

If you have not been following along with your bucket of popcorn like me and a contingency of other ad tech nerds, here's the latest case of the US Department of Justice vs Google.

Google in Court Now

Forget pop-ups and annoying banners; the DOJ's case alleges that Google’s real "ad-blocking" game was aimed at its rivals.

According to the DOJ, Google’s business strategy wasn’t just about dominating the market—it was about keeping everyone else out. By allegedly rigging the auction system, manipulating access to data, and strong-arming publishers, Google is said to have effectively ‘blocked’ competition, leaving other ad tech companies with nowhere to go.

The irony? The biggest "blocker" in the ad world may turn out to have been Google itself, using its power to make sure competitors would struggle to compete.

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