The US Department of Justice proposes that Google sell its advertising business, citing an illegal monopoly
Kyiv • UNN
The US Department of Justice demands that Google sell its AdX and DoubleClick for Publishers advertising business after a court decision on the monopoly. Google disagrees with this.
Last month, a court found Google guilty of "deliberately acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in digital advertising.
UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg Linea and TechCrunch.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday asked the court to liquidate the online advertising empire of Google's parent company, Alphabet. According to a statement from the US government ministry, Google must sell its business, which helps websites buy, sell and serve online advertising, after a judge ruled that the company illegally monopolized these markets.
Google must get rid of its AdX ad exchange product, as well as "gradually" sell DoubleClick for Publishers, an ad server for website publishers.
The search giant is accused of creating a monopoly by integrating AdX and DFP, forcing websites to use Google's publisher product.
For reference
The Justice Department's request is not unexpected; the agency has stated since 2023, when it first sued Google for monopolization, that it would seek the sale of the products.
Google is fighting antitrust pressure from several directions. In addition to the advertising technology issue, in a separate case, the Department of Justice is seeking to force Alphabet Inc. to get rid of its popular Chrome web browser.
Google's response
Google Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said that the measures indicated by the US Department of Justice will harm publishers and advertisers.
The US Department of Justice acknowledges that Google's proposed remedy for advertising technology fully takes into account the Court's decision on liability. The US Department of Justice's additional proposals to forcibly divest our advertising technology tools go far beyond the Court's findings, have no basis in law, and will harm publishers and advertisers.
Google has proposed its own set of remedies in a separate statement. These include providing real-time AdX bids to all third-party ad servers and keeping Google's actions under an independent compliance monitor for three years.
Recall
The decisive stage of the antitrust process against Google, which has been found guilty of violations, has begun in the USA. The government is demanding radical measures, including the forced sale of the Chrome browser and others.
OpenAI is interested in acquiring the Chrome browser if the court orders Google to sell it as part of an antitrust review.
