A US judge has ruled that tech giant Google has a monopoly in online advertising technology.

This is the culmination of a case in which the US Department of Justice and 17 US states sued Google, arguing that the tech giant was illegally dominating the technology which determines which adverts should be placed online and where.

In the ruling, US district judge Leonie Brinkema said that Google had “wilfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts” which enabled it to “acquire and maintain monopoly power” in the market.

This is the second antitrust case Google has lost in a year, after it was ruled the company also had a monopoly on online search.

According to BBC News, Google intends to appeal the decision.