These include the claim that Google forced publishers to use its ad server to access AdX’s advertiser demand, and that some of Google’s auction mechanics, called ‘First Look’ and ‘Last Look,’ boxed out rivals.
Google previously told ADWEEK these practices have since been retired. But Teads’ lawsuit claims some of these practices are ongoing.
“Google now claims that it ended Last Look in 2019,” the lawsuit says. “Its assurances are false….Google has enacted additional auction rules across publisher inventory that substantively parallel Last Look.”
The adtech company also accuses Google of continuing to operate a secretive bid-rigging scheme, originally called Project Bernanke. Google has previously said its 2019 shift to first-price auctions would create a “fair and transparent” market, but Teads claims that the same Project Bernanke scheme “continued to work” after this shift, and that “Google continues to update the Bernanke/Algorithm to this day.”
Teads wants court-ordered changes that would support healthier competition in the market and require Google to put an end to what it calls “deceptive practices.”
Teads will report its second-quarter earnings on Aug. 6. Its stock is down nearly 68% year-over-year, and the company warned the lawsuit could create more risk for investors.
“The Google lawsuit may be costly, protracted, and divert management’s attention and resources from our business operations,” the SSP said in an SEC filing this week.
Like many adtech companies, Teads and Google have a complicated relationship. Despite the lawsuit, they are also partners in other aspects. In February, the company said it was working with Google TV to extend its connected television ad inventory in the U.S. and the U.K.
