Η Google has a secret project called "Project Bernanke", which relied on bidding data collected by advertisers using the ad exchange program to benefit its own advertising system, according to Wall Street Newspaper.
It was first discovered by newswire service MLex. The name of the project was visible in an irrelevant document submitted by Google as part of an antitrust lawsuit in Texas.
"Bernanke" was never revealed to outside advertisers and proved to be profitable for Google, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the company.
Texas filed a lawsuit against Google over its antitrust laws in December because the company allegedly used competition tactics in which "Bernanke" was a significant part.
According to Google, the data from Project Bernanke was "comparable to data held by other market tools".
The company could have access to historical data about bids made through Google Ads, to change bids from its clients and to increase clients' chances of winning ad impressions by putting competitive advertising tools at a disadvantage.
Texas presented in court documents an internal presentation from 2013, in which Google reported that Project Bernanke would bring in $230 million in revenue for that year.
