There's a ripple in the force as Google and Meta face the return of the Jedi

Platforms' secret ad deal finally gets its day in court at the ad antitrust trial, Microsoft and Apple quit OpenAI's board, Perplexity's heat shield, and more...

With the Google ad tech antitrust trial of the century just two months away, an intrigue from the dark past is emerging giving a thrilling clue to what lies ahead…

It’s revealed in a witness list made public yesterday, and alongside 41 Google employees, and 18 former staffers, there are four more from… Meta.

Errr, what? Why are Meta witnesses being deposed to appear at Google’s antitrust trial?

Well, a long time ago, in a monopoly not so far away, the emperors of two Big Tech firms hatched a secretive advertising alliance called Jedi Blue.

Many of the details have been lost to the mists of time, so let me give you a memory jogger.

It’s 2018, and galactic rivals Google and Meta are battling for dominion over the global ad market.

Programmatic has emerged as the dominant force in advertising, and Google is winning, writing $116 billion in ad revenue.

Meta’s on their tail, seizing share, growing to $55 billion, and accelerating.

Google though has the blueprint for a Death Star up its sleev…