Google back in court as it tries to avoid advertising business breakup

"In its opening arguments in the AdTech case, the government claims Ad manager was intimately tied to the antitrust behavior, and its proposed remedies would pass muster under the standard Mehta employed. Government lawyers contend that remedies must be designed to restore competition, and Google's iron grip on online display ads can only be solved in one way. "Nothing short of a structural divestment is sufficient to bring meaningful change," said the DOJ's Julia Tarver Wood."

"Google has come up with its own proposal for remedies, which is really just a formality. Google doesn't plan to accept any penalty and will appeal the case after the remedy phase. The company's proposal is just shy of nothing, suggesting it could make real-time bid amounts visible to everyone in auctions and end unified pricing rules to allow publishers to set different floors. Google also promises not to use "first look" and "last look" dynamics, which gave Google a major advantage in auctions."

"Google is not exactly treading new ground with its arguments in this case-you could almost copy-paste "Chrome" in place of "Ad Manager" to get right back to Google's position in the search case. According to Google council Karen Dunn, the government's proposals are extreme and will cause "disruption and damage" to the advertising industry by shutting Google out. The company believes it has made enough changes of its own volition to resolve the issues cited in the case."

Government lawyers argue that Ad Manager was central to Google's anticompetitive conduct and that only structural remedies can restore competition, invoking the Mehta standard. The DOJ seeks divestiture, with Julia Tarver Wood stating that nothing short of such action will bring meaningful change. Google submitted a minimal remedies proposal, offering greater auction transparency, ending unified pricing rules, and promising not to use "first look" and "last look" dynamics, while signaling plans to appeal and rejecting penalties. Google frames its position as similar to prior defenses, warns of industry disruption from structural relief, and points to AI-driven market changes.

Read at Ars Technica