Google’s digital ad network declared illegal monopoly by US judge

The next step in the latest case is a penalty phase that will likely begin late this year or early next year

A man walks past Google’s offices in London’s Kings Cross area (Brian Melley/AP)

Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a US judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to boost the profits fuelling an internet empire currently worth $1.8tn.

The ruling issued on Thursday by US district judge Leonie Brinkema in the state of Virginia comes on the heels of a separate decision in August that concluded Google’s namesake search engine has been illegally leveraging its dominance to stifle competition and innovation.