Google on Friday faced a demand by the US government to break up its hugely profitable ad technology business after a judge found the tech giant was commanding an illegal monopoly.
“We have a defendant who has found ways to defy” the law, US government lawyer Julia Tarver Wood told a federal court in Virginia, as she urged the judge to dismiss Google’s assurance that it would change its behavior.
“Leaving a recidivist monopolist intact is not appropriate to solve the issue, she added.
The demand is the second such request by the US government, which is also calling for the divestment of the company’s Chrome browser in a separate case over Google’s world-leading search engine business.
The US government specifically alleged that Google controls the market for publishing banner ads on websites, including those of many creators and small news providers.
The hearing in a Virginia courtroom was set to plan out the second phase of the trial, set for September 22, in which the parties will argue over how to fix the ad market to satisfy the judge’s ruling.
The plaintiffs argued in the first phase of the trial last year that the vast majority of websites use Google ad software products, which, combined, leave no way for publishers to escape Google’s advertising technology and pricing.
District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with most of that reasoning, ruling last month that Google built an illegal monopoly over ad software and tools used by publishers but partially dismissed the argument related to tools used by advertisers.
