Google's Ad Tech Antitrust Showdown: Set for September Trial

By David Shepardson and Jody Godoy

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Romero.my.id) — Alphabet’s Google is set for a trial in September regarding regulators’ suggestions to force the sale of portions of its advertising technology division. This move aims to tackle the company’s substantial control over tools utilized by online publishers for selling advertisements.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, scheduled the trial date on Friday following discussions with both Google and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding possible solutions to the issue at hand.

It is anticipated that both parties will submit comprehensive plans on Monday.

The Department of Justice plans to pursue having Google divest itself of its advertising exchange and publisher ad server operations. This process is anticipated to span multiple years, according to statements made by DOJ lawyer Julia Tarver Wood.

Karen Dunn, a Google attorney, stated that the company backed behavioral solutions—like providing real-time bidding access to rivals—but emphasized that legal restrictions prevent prosecutors from seeking measures that would compel Google to divest portions of its operations.

Such a move would also harm internet users and encounter a lack of interested buyers, she said.

Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their digital ad inventory. Along with ad exchanges, the technology lets news publishers and other online content providers make money by selling ads.

Brinkema ruled in April that Google unlawfully tied publishers' use of its ad exchange to use of its ad server, and enacted anticompetitive policies that were "not in its publisher customers' best interests." The conduct harmed competition, and hurt publishers and ultimately internet users, she said.

Google has previously explored selling its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators, Romero.my.idreported in September.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and David Shepardson in Alexandria, Virginia; Edited by Chris Sanders and Matthew Lewis)