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 were filed as part of a lawsuit against Google brought by the attorneys general of multiple US states. The lawsuit alleges that Google maintained control over the advertising sales market by inflating the price of advertisements for brands and suppressing competition from other advertising exchanges. A Google spokesperson said the lawsuit is “full of inaccuracies and lacks legal merit” A Facebook spokesperson said it was inaccurate to say that the deal was not a secret, but it was no different to say the two sides signed off on the deal. The new details come as the tech companies face mounting scrutiny over allegedly anti-competitive practices. . . .
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