Google needs to be forced to unload two separate digital promoting businesses, the Justice Department argued in a court filing after a federal judge ruled last month that the Big Tech giant operates an illegal monopoly over the technology.
The feds said Google needs to be required “as soon as possible” to sell Ad Exchange, or AdX, its in-house ad marketplace that connects advertisers to publishers, based on a filing late Monday in Virginia federal court.
Google, led by CEO Sundar Pichai, also needs to be ordered to conduct a “phased divestiture” of its DFP publisher ad server, which is utilized by web sites to store and manage their digital ad inventory, the DOJ argued.
The method needs to be supervised by a court-appointed official and permit the DOJ to approve or reject potential buyers
“This comprehensive set of remedies…is obligatory to terminate Google’s monopolies, deny Google the fruits of its violations, reintroduce competition into the ad exchange and publisher ad server markets, and guard against reoccurrence in the long run,” the filing said.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has set a Sept. 22 trial date to contemplate remedies after ruling last month that Google’s two separate adtech monopolies have “substantially harmed” customers.
The detailed proposal got here after DOJ attorneys signaled during a hearing last week that they’d ask Brinkema to order a breakup.
On the time, federal attorney Julia Tarver Wood said a forced sale would likely take several years to finish.
The DOJ also said that Google needs to be required to open up its other ad products to work with third-party tools “on non-discriminatory terms with respect to bidding, matching, placement of ads, or provision of data, except on the express instruction of an advertize.”
The judge may have final say over what steps Google must implement to deal with its illegal conduct.
Any breakup could wreak havoc on probably the most lucrative a part of Google’s business. Its parent company Alphabet generated about $350 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024, an enormous chunk of which got here from digital promoting.
Google has already vowed to appeal the case and argued in a court filing of its own that the DOJ’s remedies were too extreme. Company attorneys claim that a forced sale may not even be allowed under the law.
“The DOJ is looking for remedies that go significantly beyond the Court’s narrow ruling by forcing a divestiture of Google Ad Manager,” Google vice chairman of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post.
“This might risk breaking a tool advertisers use to attach with publishers and efficiently reach their customers, and that app and video publishers use to monetize their content,” Mulholland added.
Google has expressed support for behavioral remedies, comparable to sharing relevant ad data with rivals.
Pichai’s company also faces a possible divestiture in one other DOJ case after US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly over online search.
In a separate remedies trial that’s currently underway, the DOJ has asked Mehta to force Google to unload its Chrome web browser and share data with rivals. Mehta is predicted to make a final decision in that case by August.
Google needs to be forced to unload two separate digital promoting businesses, the Justice Department argued in a court filing after a federal judge ruled last month that the Big Tech giant operates an illegal monopoly over the technology.
The feds said Google needs to be required “as soon as possible” to sell Ad Exchange, or AdX, its in-house ad marketplace that connects advertisers to publishers, based on a filing late Monday in Virginia federal court.
Google, led by CEO Sundar Pichai, also needs to be ordered to conduct a “phased divestiture” of its DFP publisher ad server, which is utilized by web sites to store and manage their digital ad inventory, the DOJ argued.
The method needs to be supervised by a court-appointed official and permit the DOJ to approve or reject potential buyers
“This comprehensive set of remedies…is obligatory to terminate Google’s monopolies, deny Google the fruits of its violations, reintroduce competition into the ad exchange and publisher ad server markets, and guard against reoccurrence in the long run,” the filing said.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has set a Sept. 22 trial date to contemplate remedies after ruling last month that Google’s two separate adtech monopolies have “substantially harmed” customers.
The detailed proposal got here after DOJ attorneys signaled during a hearing last week that they’d ask Brinkema to order a breakup.
On the time, federal attorney Julia Tarver Wood said a forced sale would likely take several years to finish.
The DOJ also said that Google needs to be required to open up its other ad products to work with third-party tools “on non-discriminatory terms with respect to bidding, matching, placement of ads, or provision of data, except on the express instruction of an advertize.”
The judge may have final say over what steps Google must implement to deal with its illegal conduct.
Any breakup could wreak havoc on probably the most lucrative a part of Google’s business. Its parent company Alphabet generated about $350 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024, an enormous chunk of which got here from digital promoting.
Google has already vowed to appeal the case and argued in a court filing of its own that the DOJ’s remedies were too extreme. Company attorneys claim that a forced sale may not even be allowed under the law.
“The DOJ is looking for remedies that go significantly beyond the Court’s narrow ruling by forcing a divestiture of Google Ad Manager,” Google vice chairman of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post.
“This might risk breaking a tool advertisers use to attach with publishers and efficiently reach their customers, and that app and video publishers use to monetize their content,” Mulholland added.
Google has expressed support for behavioral remedies, comparable to sharing relevant ad data with rivals.
Pichai’s company also faces a possible divestiture in one other DOJ case after US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly over online search.
In a separate remedies trial that’s currently underway, the DOJ has asked Mehta to force Google to unload its Chrome web browser and share data with rivals. Mehta is predicted to make a final decision in that case by August.
