New unedited documents from a government-led fraud case against Google accuse the search giant of collaborating with its rival Facebook to tarnish online advertising. The CEOs of both companies are aware of the deal and are signing it, the lawsuit said.
The first lawsuit, filed in December 2021, accused Google of "non-competitive behavior" and of working with a social media giant. But an unchanged version provides details on the involvement of Alphabet CEO Sundar Photosi and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in ratifying the deal. Facebook has renamed itself Meta.
According to the case, Facebook's chief executive officer, Sheryl Sandberg, "made it clear that 'this is a big strategic issue'" in the 2018 email series about the agreement involving the CEO of Facebook. Although the names of the Facebook executives are still being revised. suit, their titles are visible.
When both parties agreed to the terms of the agreement, "the team sent an email directly to the CEO" Zuckerberg, the lawsuit said.
We are almost ready to sign and we need your permission to move forward, ”reads the email, according to the complaint. Zuckerberg wanted to meet with Sandberg and other officials before making a decision, the complaint said.
In a statement, Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels said the case was "full of errors and lawlessness."
In September 2018, the complaint states, the two companies signed an agreement. Sandberg, a former head of Google's advertising business, and Photosi signed the agreement in person, according to provincial complaints.
Meta spokesman Chris Sgro said on Friday that the bidding company's agreement with Google and similar agreements with other bidding platforms "helped to increase competition for advertising."
"This business partnership allows Meta to bring more value to advertisers while compensating publishers fairly, leading to better results for all," said Sgro.
Internally, Google used the code name "Jedi Blue" to refer to the 2018 agreement, according to the lawsuit. Google has kept this code secret private.
Google's Schottenfels said the allegations that Photosi had ratified the agreement with Facebook were "not true."
"We sign hundreds of agreements annually that do not require the approval of the CEO, and this has never been different," he said, adding that the agreement "has never been confidential."
The case is being led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and has been joined by attorneys for Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South. Dakota and Utah.