Overview

• Opening arguments in Alexandria featured the DOJ urging Judge Leonie Brinkema to impose structural relief, arguing that only a sale of AdX would restore competition in open‑web display advertising.
• Government proposals include forcing a divestiture of Google’s ad exchange, requiring the auction‑winner mechanism to be open source, and seeking a years‑long bar on Google operating an exchange after a sale.
• Google countered that divestiture is radical and unworkable, offering behavioral and technical commitments such as deeper interoperability with rival ad servers, support for Prebid header bidding, and limits on first‑ and last‑look advantages.
• The judge, who ruled in April that Google unlawfully monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets by tying DFP and AdX, has asked parties to address how the recent search‑case remedies ruling should inform her decision.
• Witness testimony from publishers, ad‑tech rivals, and Google personnel is expected over roughly one to two weeks, with post‑trial briefing and closing arguments to follow and a final remedies order likely next year.