Erroneously unredacted court docs in Texas antitrust case expand on Facebook and Google's Jedi Blue deal, detail Google's secret “Project Bernanke” program

Wall Street Journal 2021-04-12

Context & Ripple Effects

The Texas case had already alleged that Google gave Facebook special treatment in return for not backing a competing ad system, as outlined in an earlier account of the states’ allegations. A subsequent unredacted draft added claims that the Google-Facebook arrangement amounted to illegal price fixing.

The newly exposed material joins the reported Project Bernanke auction program with the Jedi Blue allegations, giving the dispute a more detailed account of both auction mechanics and the companies’ commercial relationship. Google later defended Jedi Blue by arguing Meta remained free to use rival ad exchanges.

First-order effects

Google and Facebook face a more specific public account of the conduct at issue in the Texas antitrust case, spanning both Jedi Blue and Google’s ad-auction practices.
Texas and the other plaintiff states gain additional allegations to press against Google’s claim that the Facebook pact did not foreclose Meta from rival exchanges.

Second-order effects

Rival ad exchanges and ad-tech buyers have a clearer basis to scrutinize whether Google’s auction rules or arrangements with major platforms affected their ability to compete.
Google’s defense of Meta’s access to rival exchanges becomes more central because the unredacted documents tie the pact to the broader allegations about market competition.

Third-order effects

The dispute puts ad-auction design and bilateral platform agreements in the same antitrust frame, rather than treating auction rules as purely technical product choices.
If similar disclosures continue, competition cases against ad-tech platforms are likely to focus increasingly on how proprietary auction data and preferential terms shape access to ad markets.

The trend: Antitrust scrutiny of digital advertising is broadening from platform scale to the auction mechanisms and partner agreements that govern market access.

Discussion

@khushitavasant Khushita Vasant on x
Pretty explosive revelations about “Jedi Blue” pact between @Facebook & @Google in court filings from last night in Texas adtech #antitrust case. There's also “Project Bernanke” ad publishers didn't know about. Story by @Swiftstories & @MActon93 here: https://www.mlex.com/... htt…
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
Yes, Google has a lot of money and a lot of lawyers. No, these lawyers are not Gods, and yes, they do stupid things, like accidentally reveal Sheryl Sandberg's role in a conspiracy. At $1500/hour. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ...
@thezedwards @thezedwards on x
Google was caught once again manipulating their own advertising auctions - this “Project Bernanke” architecture (imo) is still going on today via Google “forgetting to police” shared accounts on their DSP mislabeling ads.txt IDs to build Dark Pool Sales Houses... brief ⚖️🤖🧵 https…
@johnnyryan Johnny Ryan on x
New details in the Texas case against Google... https://twitter.com/...
@maxwellafillion Max Fillion on x
The signees included Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Google SVP and Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler. Great scoop from @MActon93 and @Swiftstories
@ramaswmysridhar Sridhar Ramaswamy on x
@matthewstoller @profgalloway We need FOIA (freedom of the information act) for critical public companies...our country would be in a better place.
@repkenbuck Congressman Ken Buck on x
Google is once again accused of anticompetitive behavior in the advertising space. Congress must act to address their abuse of power. https://www.wsj.com/...
@stanphylcap @stanphylcap on x
“Google's Secret ‘Project Bernanke’ Revealed in Texas Antitrust Case” https://www.wsj.com/... TRANSCRIPT OF “PROJECT BERNANKE” NAMING SESSION: “OKAY GUYS, WHAT SHOULD WE CALL THIS THING?” “WELL, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?” “IT'S REALLY STUPID & WILL PRINT US TRILLIONS OF $$$”
@doctorow Cory Doctorow on x
Though Google insists that this was just an industry practice, the leaked document reveals that Google kept this a secret from publishers. Its internal presentations claim that they made $230m in 2013 alone from this practice. https://www.wsj.com/... 28/
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
“Yes, don't be too hasty, biglaw, you might reveal something truthful.” Ain't that the truth. https://twitter.com/...
@humblestudent Cam Hui on x
So much for “Don't be Evil” $GOOG https://www.wsj.com/...
@neil_irwin Neil Irwin on x
But why is it nicknamed for a former Federal Reserve chair who, to the best of my knowledge, has never done work on auction theory or anything similar? I WANT TO KNOW! https://www.wsj.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
WSJ also reports that Google confirmed the existence of the deal with Facebook. Signed by Sandberg and including how the two companies would act if investigated. This matching of audiences appears to be new and seems like privacy circumvention to me. /3 https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Actually, one bitter comment. “Project Bernanke,” “Jedi Blue,” et al, these are all cute project code names but behind these hundreds of millions is enough $$$ to fund all of the journalists that lost their jobs in 2020. So everyone should be infuriated. /5
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
This is the Google case if you need more background. Start with the WSJ report first and then dive into this thread. There are now 15 state Attorneys General signed on to it. And importantly it includes a section one charge that ties to Facebook, too. https://twitter.com/...
@robpegoraro Rob Pegoraro on x
1) How long would a stock exchange stay in business if it employed its own brokers and self-dealt as the Texas lawsuit alleges? 2) How did the WSJ reporters not try to get a comment out of Ben Bernanke about having this secret project named after him? https://www.wsj.com/...
@modestproposal1 Modest Proposal on x
So many questions. Does Google have other projects named after economists or only Fed chiefs? Was someone internally like “anticompetitive bidding advantage goes brrr” so let's name it after Bernanke? https://twitter.com/...
@talkingtesla @talkingtesla on x
Don't be evil. https://twitter.com/...
@aaronwall @aaronwall on x
https://www.wsj.com/... “Google for years operated a secret program that used data from past bids in the company's digital advertising exchange to allegedly give its own ad-buying system an advantage over competitors” they actually named their theft program #ProjectBernake
@domdelport Dominique Delport on x
Must Read. How duopoly behaved sometimes as a mob with your marketing $. Very insightful : @Google's Secret ‘Project Bernanke’ and ‘BlueJedi’ secret deal with @Facebook Revealed in Texas Antitrust Case - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
@hatr Hakan on x
„Google's use of bidding information, Texas alleges, amounted to insider trading in digital-ad markets." via @fubits https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@pernillet Pernille Tranberg on x
Controlling the platform & competing w its users is a bad cocktail: Google operated a secret program that used data from past bids in the company's digital advertising exchange to allegedly give its own ad-buying system an advantage, acc to court papers https://www.wsj.com/...
@paulnemitz Paul Nemitz on x
How #Google drains #press' revenue : With „Google's use of bidding information ... in digital-ad markets... about what other ad buyers were willing to pay ...it could ... pay #publishers less on its winning bids." #DSA #DMA #Insidertrading #ads https://www.wsj.com/...
@ryanjtracy Ryan Tracy on x
In some instances “we're on both the buy side and the sell side,” Google chief economist Hal Varian said in 2019. Asked how the company managed those roles, Mr. Varian said the topic was “too detailed for the audience, and me.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@chronotope Aram Zucker-Scharff on x
I might be starting to come around to some folks' position that no ad tech conspiracy theory about Google is too wild or anti-competitive to be true. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@joeross Joe Ross on x
This is wild. Google's lawyers are probably working for an hourly rate equal to or greater than my monthly mortgage payment and they. can't. redact. https://twitter.com/...
@wsj @wsj on x
Google for years operated a secret program that used data from past bids in the company's digital advertising exchange to allegedly give its own ad-buying system an advantage over competitors, court documents show https://www.wsj.com/...
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
New from @keachhagey and me: A secret Google program nicknamed “Project Bernanke” used the company's proprietary ad exchange data to give its systems a leg up on competitors. We know this because Google's lawyers committed an OG Adobe PDF redaction error. https://www.wsj.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
this lede. you really couldn't make this up. Google confirming a secret code name of “Project Bernanke” for what @matthewstoller described as “a scheme engineered by Google in which had one arm of its ad business front-running trades for ad inventory.” https://twitter.com/... htt…
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
😂 , Google, a company with more lawyers, lobbyists, communications people and money than anyone made a clerical error and leaked out sensitive information about its alleged collusion and bid rigging. /1 https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...

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