The United States government has asked a federal court to order the breakup of Google’s advertising-technology “stack”—the system used by publishers to sell ads and by advertisers to purchase them—as part of a landmark remedy phase in its antitrust suit.
The trial, which begins Monday, aims to determine what changes and penalties Google must accept to correct what the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argues is an illegal monopoly.
At issue are the parts of Google’s business that deal with ad publishers and exchanges. The DOJ is urging the court to force Google to spin off these operations. Under one proposal, the search-giant would also be prohibited from running an ad exchange for ten years following the divestitures.
Google rejects the demand, saying it “misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants.”
Earlier this year, Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google had indeed maintained an illegal grip on this ad-tech market.
Similar antitrust action has been taken in the European Union: the European Commission recently fined Google about €2.95 billion (roughly US$3.47 billion) over its control of the ad-tech market, while imposing behavioral changes rather than ordering a breakup.
The remedy trial is expected to last approximately one week, with closing arguments to follow later.
