The next phase of the DOJ’s adtech (or is it “ad tech” – we can never tell!) case against Google began today, with the remedies trial underway. In a blog post published Friday, Google said the DOJ’s proposed remedies go “significantly beyond the Court’s ruling” from April and would risk breaking tools relied on by advertisers and publishers alike.
In response, the DOJ is basically saying, “No, bro.” It’s calling for Google to divest its Ad Manager (GAM) business (not a surprise, obviously), which powers buying and selling across channels like web, mobile, and CTV. Google argues that this kind of breakup would materially harm small businesses using its tools by making it pricier for them, as advertisers, to reach customers and harder for publishers to monetize content.
Instead, the company has proposed expanding GAM’s interoperability, allowing publishers to access Google’s bids in real time through third-party tools and platforms. “Getting the remedies right in this new environment will be key to addressing concerns without breaking what’s working, and we look forward to making our case in court,” wrote Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs. (She, of course, has been there go-to throughout this saga.)
Why This Matters:
The remedies phase will determine how—if at all—Google’s adtech stack is restructured after a federal court found it had acted monopolistically in both the ad exchange and ad server markets. The outcome could reshape how ad inventory is bought and sold, with obvious implications across the digital ad ecosystem.
You also have to wonder how much the recent so-called remedies against Google’s grip on search will factor into their adtech control? Perhaps the court sees that poor reception over the search situation as “not enough” and will try to “make good” here on the adtech side. That’s not really how this process is supposed to work (right?), but you can’t help wondering if that’s how it could go.
Experts React:
Some of the more interesting takes on X about the case have already popped up in just the first day/couple of days—here are a few.
Our Take:
Google’s framing—that DOJ is overshooting the ruling—sets the stage for a bitter remedies fight. The government and the adtech industry feel increasingly at odds, and this trial is where that tension comes to a head. (Or maybe not since it’s a large player in the crosshairs.)
Advertisers and publishers will be watching closely to see whether the court opts for structural remedies, like a divestiture (a real question after the search case), or behavioral ones, like expanded interoperability. Whatever the outcome, we are going to see a brand-new precedent for future antitrust actions in adtech, sure, but well beyond.
