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Dina Srinivasan

Antitrust Scholar and Author at Independent

Authoring landmark antitrust scholarship on Google and Facebook's dominance in digital advertising that has been directly cited in major regulatory actions, including the FTC's lawsuit against Meta and DOJ scrutiny of Google's ad tech stack.

Thought LeaderNew York, New York, United States15+ years in industry

Last updated May 30, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Bio

Dina Srinivasan is one of the most consequential voices in the antitrust debate surrounding digital advertising, uniquely positioned as both a former industry insider and a rigorous legal scholar. Her 2020 paper 'The Antitrust Case Against Facebook,' published in the Berkeley Business Law Journal, became a foundational document cited in the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Meta, demonstrating rare real-world regulatory impact for academic legal scholarship. Her subsequent research into Google's dominance across the ad tech stack — examining how the company simultaneously operates as a publisher ad server, advertiser buying tool, and ad exchange — has been cited by the Department of Justice and informed congressional scrutiny of digital advertising monopolies. Before transitioning to scholarship, Srinivasan spent years working as an executive within the advertising technology industry, giving her firsthand knowledge of the technical architectures, auction mechanics, and business incentive structures that underpin competition concerns. This practitioner background allows her to translate complex ad tech dynamics — such as conflicts of interest in programmatic auctions, self-preferencing in ad exchanges, and data asymmetries — into legally actionable frameworks that resonate with regulators and courts. Her work bridges the gap between technical industry practice and antitrust law in a way few scholars can. Srinivasan has testified before government bodies and her research has been featured in major legal journals and mainstream press coverage of tech regulation. She is widely credited with helping establish the intellectual foundation for treating digital advertising markets as distinct, analyzable antitrust markets, and for articulating how vertical integration across the ad stack creates structural conflicts of interest that harm publishers, advertisers, and ultimately consumers.

Previous Roles

Advertising Technology Executive

Undisclosed (Prior to 2018)

Legal Scholar and Researcher

Yale University (affiliated) (2018-present)

Expertise
Antitrust Law in Digital AdvertisingProgrammatic AdvertisingAd Exchange Market StructureGoogle Ad Tech StackPlatform Self-PreferencingDigital Advertising MonopoliesPublisher Ad ServingAuction Mechanics and Conflicts of Interest
Education
  • J.D., Law (specific institution not publicly confirmed)
  • Undergraduate Degree (specific institution not publicly confirmed)
Notable Achievements
  • Authored 'The Antitrust Case Against Facebook' (2020), cited in the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Meta
  • Authored research on Google's dominance in ad tech cited by the U.S. Department of Justice
  • Testified before government bodies on antitrust issues in digital advertising
  • Research credited with shaping the intellectual framework for regulatory scrutiny of ad tech vertical integration
Speaking Topics
Antitrust and Big Tech Platform RegulationGoogle's Dominance Across the Ad Tech StackConflicts of Interest in Programmatic AdvertisingDigital Advertising Market Structure and CompetitionSelf-Preferencing and Vertical Integration in Ad Exchanges
Publications
  • The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, Berkeley Business Law Journal (2020)
  • Why Google Dominates Advertising Markets, Stanford Technology Law Review (2020)
  • The Google Squeeze, (research on ad tech market power, cited in DOJ proceedings)