The US Department of Justice is preparing to file a lawsuit against Google because of the company’s dominant position in the digital advertising market. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to informed sources. It is expected that the case will be filed in federal court by the end of the week, the agency’s interlocutors said.

Google is the largest player in the U.S. market of digital advertising with a turnover of $278.6 billion, the company controls most of the technology used to buy, sell and serve online advertising, notes Bloomberg. Research firm EMarketer estimates that Google is also the number one player in the $626.86 billion global digital advertising market. Alphabet (Google’s parent company) is expected to earn $73.8 billion from advertising in 2023.

This is the second time the DOJ has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. This is the fifth major lawsuit in the U.S. challenging the company’s business practices, Bloomberg notes. Earlier, the attorneys general of several states filed three separate lawsuits against Google, claiming that the company dominates the markets of online search, advertising technology and Android applications, the agency writes.

Google, in turn, argues that the U.S. online advertising market is competitive. In court documents and congressional testimony, the company noted that its competitors include Amazon, Microsoft and Meta*, Bloomberg writes.