• by Laurie Sullivan , 3 hours ago

On the first day of Google's ad-tech remedies trial, a potential buyer for Google's Ad Exchange (AdX) has already expressed interest -- if the Department of Justice (DOJ) convinces U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema that the company must divest its real-time programmatic ad marketplace.

Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange, expressed interest in buying AdX during his testimony on Monday -- if Google is required to divest it.

Casale also mentioned that AI could predict ads based on publisher content, which is something that AdX already does. Contextual targeting is a core capability of Google's advertising technology. 

Grant Whitmore, a vice president of ad technology for the publisher Advance Local, also testified that Google has too much market power and should be forced to sell off its ad exchange and the DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) platform that publishers use.

Matt Stoller, founder of the newsletter Big Tech on Trial, wrote this morning that Whitmore argued that only divesting AdX is not enough, because Google adapts and DFP’s control would remain even without an in-house exchange.

“DFP would need to also be divested. He believes companies sell parts off all the time, that there are many competent companies who could step up to run divested AdX and DFP,” Stoller wrote, citing Whitmore. “Switching costs would not be high, and most clients would hardly notice a change in ownership. Similarly, capable hosts would come forward to manage the open-source Final Auction Logic.”

Deliberations on the remedy to Google's ad-tech monopoly began Monday. The DOJ has asked Brinkema to order Google to divest its ad exchange AdX, which connects buyers and sellers of ads.

Google’s ad-tech capabilities do much of the buying and selling of digital ads. This supports brands and helps to drive revenue for publishers through tools for ad buyers, managing ad space, and a marketplace where buyers and sellers transact.

Total U.S. digital ad spend will grow 9.5% by the end of this year to reach $338.27 billion -- down 115% from the amount previously forecast last year, according to Emarketer -- but the industry will still generate a major sum that supports the economy.

When the case comes to an end, Brinkema must decide what will stimulate more competition in the market for online advertising. Earlier this year, she ruled that Google had illegally monopolized the online-auction technology that decides which ads appear on all types of websites.