Google Faces A September Trial Over Ad Tech Dominance. DOJ Pushes For Google To Sell Ad Exchange And Publisher Ad Server. Google Supports Behavioral Remedies, Opposes Divestitures As Illegal And Harmful. Judge Ruled Google’s Ad Tech Practices Harmed Competition And Publishers. Google Considered Selling Ad Exchange To Appease European Regulators.

Google Antitrust Trial

A U.S. federal judge has scheduled a September trial to address Alphabet’s Google’s dominance in online advertising technology, following antitrust enforcers’ push to force the company to divest parts of its ad tech business.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, set the trial date after discussions with Google and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding potential remedies. Both parties are required to submit detailed proposals by Monday.

The DOJ is expected to demand that Google sell its ad exchange and publisher ad server businesses, a process that could span several years, according to DOJ attorney Julia Tarver Wood.

Google’s attorney, Karen Dunn, argued that the company supports behavioral remedies, such as sharing real-time bidding data with competitors, but maintained that forcing divestitures is not legally permissible. Dunn also claimed such actions would negatively impact internet users and face a lack of viable buyers.

Publisher ad servers enable websites to manage and store digital ad inventories, while ad exchanges facilitate ad sales for news publishers and content providers, helping them monetize their platforms.

In April, Judge Brinkema ruled that Google illegally tied its ad exchange to its ad server, implementing anticompetitive practices that disadvantaged publishers and harmed competition, ultimately affecting internet users.

Reuters reported in September that Google previously considered selling its ad exchange to address European antitrust concerns.

Highlights:

Google faces a September trial over ad tech dominance.
DOJ pushes for Google to sell ad exchange and publisher ad server.
Google supports behavioral remedies, opposes divestitures as illegal and harmful.
Judge ruled Google’s ad tech practices harmed competition and publishers.
Google considered selling ad exchange to appease European regulators.