In a stunning twist that could reshape how we view the future of the internet, Google has quietly admitted in a federal court filing that the “open web is already in rapid decline.” This revelation, buried in legal documents submitted late last Friday, directly clashes with upbeat public declarations from the company’s top brass, raising eyebrows about transparency in Big Tech.
The admission surfaced amid Google’s fierce defense in ongoing antitrust battles with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ is pushing to dismantle parts of Google’s advertising empire, accusing the tech behemoth of monopolistic practices. In response, Google argued that forcing it to spin off its ad tech operations would only hasten the web’s downfall. On page five of the filing, the company stated bluntly: “The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline and Plaintiffs’ divestiture proposal would only accelerate that decline, harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue.”
This pessimistic outlook paints a picture of an internet ecosystem on life support, where traditional web pages and display ads are fading fast. Google pointed to shifting advertiser preferences toward AI-powered formats, connected TV, and retail media networks as key culprits. Data in the filing reveals a dramatic drop: open-web display ads accounted for 40% of Google Ads impressions in 2019, plummeting to just 11% by early 2025.
Clashing Narratives from the C-Suite
The court filing’s doom-and-gloom tone stands in sharp contrast to recent rosy pronouncements from Google’s leadership. Back in May, CEO Sundar Pichai sat down with The Verge and dismissed fears of a dying web. “Web publishing is not dying,” Pichai insisted, citing a 45% surge in web content over the past two years based on Google’s crawling data. “When we crawl, when we look at the number of web pages available to us, that number has gone up by 45% in the last two years alone.”
Echoing his boss, Nick Fox, Google’s VP of Search, appeared on the AI Inside podcast that same month and proclaimed, “From our point of view, the web is thriving.” Fox doubled down on the growth stats and waved off worries that AI tools might eclipse traditional browsing.
These conflicting messages haven’t gone unnoticed. Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next—a group representing major publishers—called out the hypocrisy on social media. “Either Google executives have been lying to the public and investors for months or to a Court,” Kint posted, highlighting the disconnect. Publishers aligned with his organization have been sounding alarms too, reporting a median 10% drop in Google Search referral traffic year-over-year during May and June.
The Bigger Picture: Antitrust Heat and Global Scrutiny
Google’s strategic pivot in court comes as the company faces a barrage of regulatory firestorms. Just last week, on September 2, a U.S. federal judge ordered Google to share search data with rivals but stopped short of mandating a Chrome browser sale. Across the pond, the European Commission slapped Google with a hefty €2.95 billion fine on Friday for abusing its dominance in ad tech.
Critics argue that Google’s “declining web” narrative is a calculated ploy to fend off breakup threats, positioning the company as an indispensable guardian of a fragile online world. Yet, this admission could backfire, fueling skepticism about Google’s role in that very decline. After all, as the gatekeeper of search and ads, Google wields immense power over web traffic and revenue—power that’s now under the microscope.
As antitrust proceedings heat up, one thing is clear: the open web’s fate hangs in the balance. Will Google’s confession spark a broader reckoning for how tech giants shape our digital future? Or is it just another chapter in the endless saga of Silicon Valley spin? Stay tuned—the internet’s obituary might not be written yet, but according to Google, the ink is drying fast.