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Title: US Asks Judge To Break Up Google's Ad Tech Business

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/05/02/22432...

The U.S. government is seeking to break up Google's advertising technology
business after a judge ruled the company holds an illegal monopoly over ad
tools for publishers, marking the second such antitrust case following a
similar request to divest Chrome. The Guardian reports: "We have a defendant
who has found ways to defy" the law, US government lawyer Julia Tarver Wood
told a federal court in Virginia, as she urged the judge to dismiss Google's
assurance that it would change its behavior. "Leaving a recidivist
monopolist" intact was not appropriate to solve the issue, she added. [...]
The US government specifically alleged that Google controls the market for
publishing banner ads on websites, including those of many creators and small
news providers. The hearing in a Virginia courtroom was scheduled to plan out
the second phase of the trial, set for September, in which the parties will
argue over how to fix the ad market to satisfy the judge's ruling. The
plaintiffs argued in the first phase of the trial last year that the vast
majority of websites use Google ad software products which, combined, leave
no way for publishers to escape Google's advertising technology and pricing.
The district court judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with most of that reasoning,
ruling last month that Google built an illegal monopoly over ad software and
tools used by publishers, but partially dismissed the argument related to
tools used by advertisers. The US government said it would use the trial to
recommend that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange
operations, as Google could not be trusted to change its ways. "Behavioral
remedies are not sufficient because you can't prevent Google from finding a
new way to dominate," Tarver Wood said. Google countered that it would
recommend that it agree to a binding commitment that it would share
information with advertisers and publishers on its ad tech platforms. Google
lawyer Karen Dunn did, however, acknowledge the "trust issues" raised in the
case and said the company would accept monitoring to guarantee any
commitments made to satisfy the judge. Google is also arguing that calls for
divestment are not appropriate in this case, which Brinkema swiftly refused
as an argument. The judge urged both sides to mediate, stressing that coming
to a compromise solution would be cost-effective and more efficient than
running a weeks-long trial.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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