The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google and Facebook cut a deal in 2018 where Facebook agreed not to compete with Google’s online ad tools. The Journal’s report goes on to say that the companies knew that this deal might raise some antitrust issues, and that the tech giants pledged to combine forces if the deal was ever investigated.
I’m a big fan of the Wall Street Journal, and both Google and Facebook do business with my firm. That said, there is way more to this story than is being reported here. Media partnerships are a normal part of the media business. You partner with companies who have capabilities you don’t have, or don’t want to build for yourself. Have Google and Facebook thrown their weight around the media business? Yes. Are they monopolies? That’s what these lawsuits will determine.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.