Lawsuit claims Facebook and Google CEOs were aware of deal to control advertising sales

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were allegedly aware of and approved a deal to collaborate on the potential manipulation of advertising sales, according to newly revealed documents.

The documents, which came to light on Friday, were filed as part of a lawsuit against Google brought by the attorneys general of multiple US states. The lawsuit was first filed in December 2020 and claimed Google misled publishers and advertisers about the price and process of advertising auctions. At that time, many documents and parts of the lawsuit were redacted, but court rulings have since made them public.

The Journal reported the lawsuit also claims executives at both Facebook, which recently rebranded as Meta, and Google signed off on a deal to allegedly assure that Facebook would bid on, and win, a certain percentage of ads.

The new details come as the tech companies face mounting scrutiny over allegedly anti-competitive practices. A US judge ruled earlier this week that the government can proceed with a lawsuit that seeks to break up Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, in an effort to loosen its grip on the market. And on Friday, a group of nearly four dozens states asked to reinstate a separate antitrust lawsuit against the company.

Google, meanwhile, is facing its own monopoly-related charges brought by the US government. Google has denied the charges.