PubMatic is strutting into court like it’s wearing a cape. The independent SSP is suing Google, accusing the Mountain View giant of suffocating competition, rigging auctions, and hoarding data like it’s the world’s greediest dragon.

The allegations aren’t new. Regulators have said for years that Google’s vertical integration — ad server, exchange, DSP, all under one roof — gives it the power to dictate who wins, who loses, and who pays what in digital advertising. It’s as if one player owned the casino, the cards, the dice, and the surveillance cameras.

PubMatic’s complaint wraps itself in noble language about transparency and empowering publishers. The story they’re selling? “We’re not just suing for ourselves, we’re saving the open web.” Cue applause.

But let’s be clear: PubMatic isn’t a nonprofit, it’s a business that’s been losing oxygen. This isn’t altruism. It’s survival dressed up in courtroom rhetoric.