Publishers could get more ad data from Google, witness says

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) — In a court fight to stave off divestiture of its ad tech arm, Google could allow publishers access into the computations used by its ad server to determine which advertisements win impressions, a company executive testified Tuesday.

Publishers would be able to audit the ad server’s “final logic,” said Glenn Berntson, Google’s engineering director. He referred to a function of the tech giant’s publisher ad server, called DoubleClick for Publishers or DFP, containing the code that determines how the publisher’s ad inventory is allocated.

But while this could be beneficial, it may also be challenging for some publishers to make sense of, he added.

This is the second week of a trial focused on how Google will pay for antitrust violations in the operation of its ad tech business. Throughout it, rival ad executives have complained that the tech titan lacks transparency.

The Justice Department seeks divestiture of DFP and Google’s ad exchange, products that have turned the company into a powerhouse and rake in billions annually. Coupled with a proposed injunction that would keep Google out of the market for a decade, the potential punishment is unprecedented, according to Google’s legal team.

Up until now, Google has proposed behavioral and conduct remedies. One part of the proposal instructs that Google “shall, no later than three months from the effective date, enable publishers to export their publisher DFP data and to pass on their publisher DFP data to any non-Google publisher ad server.”

Justice Department attorneys complain that Google’s remedy proposal would not change the tech giant’s behavior. Rival tech CEOs who have been called to testify agree.

Questioned about the possible divestiture of ad tech products, Rajeev Goel, chief executive officer of the tech company PubMatic, said, “It does have the potential to affect our scale.”

Separately, PubMatic sued Google earlier this month, demanding $1 billion in damages and contending that the tech giant “used its vast resources, immense power, and anticompetitive tactics to push PubMatic — and others — aside.”

Google’s lead attorney, Karen Dunn, grilled Goel for more than an hour, leaning into questions about his motivations. Was it correct, she asked, that he wanted to bid for Google’s AdX?

“I might be interested,” he said, in testimony via videolink. “But I don’t have the information I need.”

Previously, Goel said he had no opinion regarding acquisition, she noted.

“I don’t have an opinion,” he responded. “And I might be interested.”

In April, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled Google was illegally running its ad tech business as a monopoly. Her ruling followed a 2024 trial in which the Justice Department accused the company of a systematic campaign to dominate digital advertising tools. The Justice Department’s 150-page complaint accused Google of seizing control of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers and brokers to facilitate digital advertising.

The trial continues Wednesday and Google’s legal team is expected to call expert witnesses to opine about the feasibility of divesting the company’s ad tech arm. Previously, Google executives have testified that divesting the ad tech arm could result in harm to publishers by creating issues such as slower pages and lower readership.