Judge Orders Behavioral Remedies for Google’s Ad Tech Business
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema has unsealed a ruling requiring Google to implement behavioral changes in its ad technology business over the next six years, as part of an antitrust case brought by the Justice Department (DOJ). The order mandates that Google's ad tech products must work with rival systems and share auction data with publishers. Specifically, publishers using DFP will be allowed to use competing exchanges instead of AdX, which is also required to bid into other publisher ad servers on equal terms. The ruling includes requirements for both AdX and DFP to connect with Prebid, an open-source header-bidding framework, and mandates that Google provide real-time bid data. The company must appoint a compliance monitor and publish documentation explaining how its auction system works. These changes are intended to promote competition in the ad tech market after Judge Brinkema found Google's conduct unlawful. The DOJ called the ruling a
