The deal was called “Jedi Blue” and it provided Facebook an advantage in bidding for ad headers, where websites could at once get ad space from several exchanges. Facebook said in 2017 that it was exploring a new strategy for online ads that would challenge Google’s digital ad market. But Facebook did an about-face less than two years later and announced it was entering an alliance of companies that backed Google’s similar campaign. In recent years, both businesses have faced a variety of antitrust inquiries and continue to do so. Many suspect that this agreement could lead to the smoking gun that, in any continuing cases of this sort, could seriously harm them. The announcement of the agreement between the tech giants has renewed questions about how the largest technology firms join together to close ad competition competition. The transactions are also important, identifying the winners and losers for technology services and goods in different markets. With the vital terms of the contract hidden by confidentiality provisions, they are settled on in secret. How all this plays out acknowledges that different pending antitrust cases can be interesting. For Facebook and Google, however, it does not look better right now.
