Google to face US antitrust trial over digital ads in September

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Monday set a Sept. 9, 2024, date for the start of a jury trial in a lawsuit the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of states filed last year against Google (GOOGL.O), that accused the company of abusing its dominance of digital advertising technology.

The lawsuit, filed in January 2023, accuses Google of monopolizing the market for digital advertising and undermining competition. The government has said Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite.

Google has denied the claims and said if the lawsuit succeeds, it would "slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow."

The Justice Department, Virginia and other states had requested a July date for the Alexandria, Virginia, trial. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said in an order, that a summer trial would have posed logistical problems.

Representatives for Google and the Justice Department on Monday declined to comment about the trial date.

Google separately faces a March 2025 trial in U.S. federal court in Texas, where a similar lawsuit from Texas and other states is challenging its ad tech practices.

In a third case, a U.S. judge in Washington, D.C., is expected to hear closing arguments in May in lawsuits from the U.S. Justice Department, Colorado and other states over Google's web search dominance.