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Google’s Advertising Solutions are under scrutiny as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks significant changes to restore fairness in the digital advertising industry. The DOJ has suggested that Google divest from two major advertising solutions, AdX and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), following a federal court decision which deemed the company guilty of “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in vital advertising technology sectors.
According to a report by Reuters, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema determined last month that Google had unlawfully monopolised both the ad exchange and publisher ad server sectors. In a follow-up court filing, the DOJ contended that structural remedies, such as divestitures, are essential to “terminate Google’s monopolies” and avert future anti-competitive behaviour.
The DOJ is advocating for the complete divestiture of AdX, Google’s digital advertising marketplace, while suggesting a timed sale of DFP, the platform utilised by publishers for ad management and delivery. Furthermore, the DOJ proposes that Google should be prohibited from operating an ad exchange for a decade post the divestiture of AdX. The department accuses Google of integrating AdX with DFP in a way that causes publishers to lose “significant revenue” if they fail to utilise both tools, thus effectively stifling competition.
In the DOJ filings referenced by TechCrunch, the agency also insists that Google should allow its ad-buying tools, including AdWords, to interact with all third-party advertising technology platforms “on non-discriminatory terms” concerning bidding, placement, and data access, unless specific conditions are set by an advertiser.
In reaction, Google has strongly opposed these measures. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, stated to Reuters that “The DOJ’s additional proposals to force a divestiture of our ad tech tools go well beyond the Court’s findings, have no basis in law, and would harm publishers and advertisers.” She highlighted that Google’s proposed solutions, which include making AdX accessible to third-party ad servers and appointing an independent compliance observer, sufficiently address the court’s liability ruling.
While the DOJ has deemed these behavioural solutions inadequate, Mulholland asserted that the department had previously recognised that Google’s proposals met the legal criteria based on the court’s ruling.
Meanwhile, across Europe, Google attempted to settle an antitrust investigation by proposing the sale of AdX, a move which, as reported by Reuters, was dismissed by publishers as insufficient.
A trial aimed at determining the eventual remedies in the DOJ’s case concerning advertising technology is set to commence in September, following Judge Brinkema’s recent hearing of arguments from both parties.
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