Court Finds Google Guilty of Ad Tech Monopoly, DOJ Demands Sale of Key Products

Dhruv Raghavon 3 minute read
3 minute read
Google

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed that Google should sell two of its products in the ad tech space as remedial action against it’s monopoly in the online advertising market, a court filing revealed. The development comes after the Eastern District of Virginia found the search engine developer guilty of “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly” in the ad tech market on April 17, 2025.

After a three-week bench trial, the US district court concluded that the federal government, along with 17 states, successfully proved that Google commands a monopoly in the open-web display publisher ad server and exchange markets. The court acknowledged that the company had unlawfully tied its DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), a publisher ad server, and AdX, its ad exchange product, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (It is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1890 to prohibit monopolistic practices and promote fair competition in the marketplace). At the time of delivering the judgment, the court stated it would schedule another hearing to determine appropriate remedies for the company’s antitrust violations.

DOJ’s Proposed Remedies:

The US DOJ proposed “a mix of structural, behavioral, and administrative remedies,” including the sale of the US-based tech company’s AdX (ad exchange) and the “phased divestiture” or sale of its DFP publisher ad server.

To justify the proposal, the department stated that Google leveraged its common control of assets across the ad tech stack to harm consumers and competition in multiple markets. According to the court filing, the department explained that Google integrated its ad tech stack products to work together, enabling the company to carry out its anticompetitive practices.

“Specifically, the crux of Google’s campaign was its common control of DFP, AdX, and AdWords, which began with the acquisition of DoubleClick and helped [Google] establish a dominant position on both sides of the ad tech stack,” the DOJ stated in the court filing. “Once Google had DoubleClick’s ad exchange and publisher ad server in hand, it effectively restricted the unique advertising demand offered by AdWords advertisers to AdX.”

What did Google say?

After being found guilty of violating antitrust law in April 2025, Google stated in a blog post that it disagrees with the court’s verdict and intends to appeal the decision.

The company argued that the DOJ’s proposed remedies go beyond the scope of the ruling and could harm consumers, innovation, and the broader tech ecosystem. Google claimed the proposals would make it harder for users to access its services by potentially giving default preference to competitors like Microsoft Bing, and could raise costs for device makers and browsers that rely on revenue from Google search distribution.

Additionally, Google expressed concerns over user privacy, stating that the DOJ’s proposals might force it to share sensitive search data with lesser-known companies, increasing potential privacy and security risks.

Google’s proposal:

In a separate court filing, the company submitted its own proposal for remedial actions. Among other things, Google proposed making real-time bids available to all third-party ad servers for the AdX ad exchange. Additionally, it suggested that its actions be monitored by an independent compliance observer for three years.

Background to Google Antitrust Case:

According to the procedural history presented in the court filing, on January 24, 2023, the US and eight states filed a complaint against Google for allegedly monopolizing the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.

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Later, on February 17, 2023, the company requested that the case be transferred to the Southern District of New York, as 19 civil antitrust actions concerning its ad tech practices had already been moved to that district. However, the court refused the request due to a legal exemption.

Why it matters?

The US is not the only country where the company has come under fire for its advertising practices. 

In April 2025, a competition law expert, Or Brook, filed a $6.62 billion (£5 billion) class action lawsuit in the UK against Google for allegedly using its dominance in the internet search space to overcharge other companies for ads and block competition from rival search engines.

The lawsuit alleges that Google signed deals with Android phone manufacturers to pre-install two of its products—the Google Search app and Chrome browser. Furthermore, the tech giant allegedly made its ad services work better with its search engine than its rivals’, giving its own services an unfair advantage.

Since the US district court has already found the company guilty of breaching antitrust law and is currently deliberating on the appropriate remedies, another case not going in its favor could spell trouble for the search engine developer.

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