Google used a secret program called “ Project Bernanke ” for years to increase its customer ’ chances of winning bids for competitive ad space , theWall Street Journalreported on Saturday , citing royal court documents register in theTexas - led antimonopoly suitagainst Google . The state argues that the programme present Google an unjust private-enterprise advantage against rival ad buying tools and allowed it to pay publishing house less for win bids .
Ironically , the company spilled the beans on its own secret program . The Journal support that the court documents in question — which were reviewed by the sales outlet , although Google has since refiled them under seal — were filed by Google earlier this week in response to the Texas suit and were not decent redacted when uploaded to the motor hotel ’s public docket . Google acknowledge the existence of Project Bernanke in its reply .
For anyone who ’s not familiar with the complex digital ad world , here ’s a very basic breakdown . publishing company , or the technical name for any website that serves advertising , sell ad distance on their website . advertizer put down bidding for a fussy advertizing place on ad exchanges , which are like auction houses where whoever bids the high price pull ahead the coveted ad outer space . you’re able to get a more elaborated and technical explanationhere .
Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)
Now back to Google . In the court document , Google explains that Project Bernanke used data about historical tender made through Google Ads to adjust client — which refer to adman figure out with Google and paying to do so — bids there and tilt the betting odds in their favor at ad auctions , per the Journal . These efforts increased Google client ’ chances of winning auctions that would have otherwise been won by rival ad dick and also put millions of one dollar bill in revenue in Google ’s pockets .
Google did not inform publishers who sold ad through its ad - buying systems about the creation of Project Bernanke .
Exactly how many 1000000 Google ’s made from Project Bernanke is n’t mentioned in the Journal report . However , Google did confirm that the project was carry to generate $ 230 million in revenue in 2013 .
concord to the Journal , in the filing Google denied that there was anything amiss about using the sole information it had to inform its client bids . The company said that this was “ comparable to data maintain by other buying tools . ”
In fact , Google ’s dominance in the digital ads market is the field of the Texas antimonopoly lawsuit . Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton , who also has his own bevy of legal problems , isallegingthat Google repeatedly abused its monopoly exponent to curb the way advertizement are priced and rig ad auctions . This behavior , Paxton claims , allow Google to “ continually illicitly gain by taking money by from those web pages and putting it in their own pocket . ”
The documents also shake off light on Google’sJedi Bluedeal with Facebook , the deal in which Facebook held off going all in into the lintel bidding business and alternatively route that ad business through Google ’s advertizing platform . The Journal stated that under the agreement , Facebook was expect to spend $ 500 million or more in Google ’s Ad Manager or AdMob auction sale in the fourth twelvemonth of the deal , among other details .
Gizmodo reached out to Google for comment on Sunday about the Journal report but did not receive a reception by the meter of publication . We ’ll be sure to update this blog if we hear back .
In a statement to the Journal , Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels said the complaint “ cook many aspects of our ad technical school business . We look forward to making our character in court . ”
AdvertisingAlphabet Inc. CompaniesFacebookGoogleKen Paxton
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