The U.S. Department of Justice is proposing that Google sell two of its advertising products to restore competition in the advertising space, according to a new filing. The proposal comes after a judge last month found Google guilty of “intentionally acquiring and maintaining a monopoly position” in the digital advertising space.
In a statement, the DOJ said that Google must sell its AdX ad exchange product, as well as “phase out” DoubleClick for Publishers, an ad server for website publishers. The Department also requires that Google not launch an ad exchange for 10 years after the sale of AdX.
The DOJ claims that Google “guaranteed that publishers would lose significant revenues if they did not use AdX”. It also accused the search giant of creating a monopoly by integrating AdX and DFP, forcing websites to use Google’s publishing product.
The proposal also demanded that Google open up its ad buying tools, including AdWords, and make them work with all third-party advertising products “on non-discriminatory terms and conditions with respect to bidding, selection, placement, or provision of information, unless expressly indicated by the advertiser.”
“This comprehensive set of remedies, including stripping Google of the illegally obtained monopolies and products that were the primary tools of Google’s illegal scheme, is necessary to end Google’s monopolies, deprive Google of the fruits of its violations, restore competition in the ad exchange and publisher ad server markets, and prevent such violations from occurring again in the future,” the statement said.
In response to these proposals, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Ann Mulholland said that these measures would harm publishers and advertisers.
“The DOJ has recognized that Google’s proposed ad tech remedy is fully consistent with the Court’s liability ruling. The DOJ’s additional proposals to force the sale of our advertising tools go far beyond the Court’s findings, have no legal basis, and would harm publishers and advertisers,” Mulholland said in a statement.
Google offered its own set of remedies in a separate statement. They include providing access to AdX rates in real time to all third-party ad servers, as well as monitoring Google’s actions by an independent compliance monitor for three years.
Google is fighting antitrust pressure from several directions. Separate from the ad tech case, the US also wants the company to sell its Chrome browser after a judge ruled the company a monopolist in the online search market.
