Earlier this month, a U.S. judge refused to force Google to
sell a division of its digital advertising business -- rejecting the government’s push to break up part of the company’s advertising business.
Judge Leonie Brinkema, in a federal
court order in Alexandria, Virginia, instead opted for a set of rules governing how Google must operate its ad-business units across the advertising market.
The decision is the second time in
recent years that a federal judge has declined to dismantle a piece of Google’s business after a judge last year refused to force the sale of its Chrome browser in a separate monopoly case based
on online search.
Judge Brinkema filed a full remedies opinion in the U.S. v. Google ad-technology monopoly suit on September 16.
The full 106-page remedies decision is now publicly
available. Both sides were given 14 days to flag confidential business information and propose redactions, but neither side has done so.
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The document states that a court-appointed
“technical monitor” will keep watch on these requirements globally, not just in the U.S.
On September 2, Brinkema issued a public order confirming that Google would
not have to sell AdX following a long and drawn-out trial.
Google is required to build API integrations connecting AdX and Google Ad Manager, rebranded from DoubleClick for
Publishers (DFP), to Prebid, an open-source technology framework used by publishers to run header bidding.
It also must submit AdX bids to rival publisher ad servers on the same terms
that DFP receives them. The company must also share bid data with publishers, and AdWords can no longer bid directly into DFP or favor Google's own ad-technology tools.
Since Google is
required to integrate its ad technology ecosystem with the open-source consortium Prebid to ensure fair competition, this mandate builds interfaces and connections between AdX, DFP, and Prebid to
route and solicit real-time bids for indirect and programmatic direct demand on functions and without additional latency.
“The Court's ruling in the Google ad tech case marks a
significant victory for this Department's efforts to protect and restore competition,” stated Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. in a release posted to the U.S. Department of
Justice website.
The changes will run for six years -- the term Google suggested -- instead of 15 years sought by the Justice
Department and states that joined the case. However, the court can extend the period if the judgment has not achieved its goal.
When Brinkema’s decision was first announced
earlier this month, Barry Lynn, executive director of the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, said the
judge had offered “more proof the U.S. judiciary is abdicating its congressionally mandated duty to apply the text and spirit of the nation's antitrust laws," according to one report.