Google is forcing advertisers to use Google’s tools to purchase ad space from the leading provider of video inventory (YouTube) in the United States, the state prosecutors argue in the antitrust lawsuit against Google.
The state prosecutors remind that until 2015, advertisers could purchase YouTube inventory through one of many non-Google buy-side intermediaries. The prosecutors say Google started withholding YouTube inventory from third-party buy-side intermediaries to force advertisers to use Google’s advertising buying tools.
According to the lawsuit, by restricting the pool of buyers for YouTube inventory, Google lowered the demand and revenue for YouTube content creators.
YouTube is mentioned 33 times in this antitrust lawsuit, as "YouTube has sufficient power in the online video inventory market to coerce advertisers and others to use Google’s demand-side platforms and advertising buying tools— DV360 and Google Ads—even if they would prefer not to do so."