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1News
07-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
US expands attempt to break up Google with an adtech teardown
The US Justice Department is doubling down on its attempt to break up Google by asking a federal judge to force the company to part with some of the technology powering the company's digital ad network. The proposed dismantling coincides with an ongoing federal effort to separate Google's Chrome browser from its dominant search engine. The US government's latest proposal was filed in a Virginia federal court two-and-a-half weeks after a federal judge ruled that its lucrative digital ad network has been improperly abusing its market power to stifle competition to the detriment of online publishers. In a 17-page filing, Justice Department lawyers argued that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema should punish Google by ordering the company to offload its AdX business and DFP ad platform, tools that bring together advertisers, who want to market their products, and publishers, who want to sell commercial space on their sites, to bring in revenue. The US government is also seeking other restrictions, including a 10-year ban on Google from operating a digital ad exchange, to undercut the power of a 'recidivist monopolist.' Not surprisingly, it's an idea that Google vehemently plans to oppose when the penalty phase of the antitrust case —known as remedy hearings — begins in late September. Google already has vowed to appeal Brinkema's ruling that the technology powering the ad network has been breaking the law, but can't do that until the judge rules on its punishment in a decision expected late this year or early next year. The Justice Department's proposal 'would cause economic chaos and technological dysfunction resulting in harm to millions of advertisers and publishers, and in so doing, degrade the experience of internet users,' Google said in a court filing late Monday. In its counterproposal, Google outlined a plan that it believes will bring more transparency to its ad network and eventually foster more competition. Google proposed the appointment of a trustee to oversee its behaviour for three years. The attempt to tear down Google's ad network comes on top of the Justice Department's ongoing effort to have the company part with its popular Chrome browser and impose other restrictions to curtail the power of its ubiquitous search engine, which another federal judge branded an illegal monopoly in a ruling last August. The remedy hearings in the search case are scheduled to conclude later this month, with a ruling from US District Judge Amit Mehta expected by Labor Day. If the Justice Department is able to persuade the two different judges to order its proposed dismantling of Google, it would be the biggest breakup of a US company since AT&T was forced to spin off its phone service into seven separate regional companies more than 40 years ago. Google's Play Store for apps running on its Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones was also declared an illegal monopoly by a federal jury in 2023 and is battling a judge's order that would require it to overhaul a commission system that generates billions of dollars in annual revenue. But hobbling its search engine and digital ad network would be far bigger blows because they are the key cogs in a business that generated US$265 billion in revenue last year. Google is confronting the breakup threats at the same time the advent of artificial intelligence is changing the way consumers are using technology and seeking information online — a shift that could also siphon traffic and money away from a powerhouse that began in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Despite the adversity, Google is still delivering robust financial growth to its corporate parent Alphabet Inc., which is currently valued at US$2 trillion. Alphabet's share dipped by less than 1% on Tuesday to close at US$163.20.
Int'l Business Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Google Faces Ad-Tech Breakup as US Targets Illegal Monopoly
The Google logo is seen with the rainbow flag as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer pride and LGBT social movements in New York City on June 7, 2022. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking major steps to break up part of Google's digital advertising empire after a judge ruled the tech giant held an illegal monopoly in two key ad-tech markets. The DOJ is now urging a federal court to force Google to sell its AdX platform and DFP ad server tools—key technologies that connect advertisers with websites looking to sell ad space. These proposed changes aim to restore fairness and competition in the online ad space. According to the DOJ, Google used its power to control both sides of the digital advertising market—where ads are sold and how they are delivered—leaving publishers and advertisers with fewer choices and higher costs. According to CNBC , US District Judge Leonie Brinkema recently found Google guilty of "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in these markets. The trial to decide Google's punishment is set for September, with a final ruling expected by early next year. — Storyboard18 (@BrandStoryboard) May 7, 2025 Google Warns Ad-Tech Split Would Hurt Internet Users Google strongly opposes the DOJ's demands. The company said that forcing it to sell parts of its ad business would harm advertisers, publishers, and internet users alike. "The DOJ's proposals... have no basis in law and would harm publishers and advertisers," said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Instead, Google has offered a different solution. It suggested a plan to increase transparency and allow a court-appointed trustee to monitor its behavior for three years. Google argues this would protect competition without needing to break up its business. The DOJ disagrees, saying stronger action is needed, including a 10-year ban on Google from running a digital ad exchange, Inquirer said. The agency wants to ensure the company cannot repeat its past behavior, calling Google a "recidivist monopolist." This isn't the only legal battle Google is facing. In another ongoing case, the DOJ is also trying to separate the company's Chrome browser from its search engine, which another judge ruled was also an illegal monopoly. If the courts approve the DOJ's proposals, it would be the largest US company breakup since AT&T was forced to divide into smaller companies over 40 years ago. Originally published on © {{Year}} All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ammon
07-05-2025
- Business
- Ammon
U.S. seeks breakup of Google's ad-tech products after judge finds illegal monopoly
Ammon News - The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed that Google sell its AdX digital ad marketplace and DFP platform for managing and delivering ads on websites, after a federal judge found the company illegally dominated two online ad-tech markets. The proposed remedies, including divestitures, are necessary to end the Alphabet-owned tech giant's monopolies and restore competition in the ad-exchange and publisher ad-server markets, the DOJ said in a court filing late on Monday. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia last month found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in those two markets. The ruling was another blow for Google after a separate judge found last year that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. Brinkema set a September trial date on Friday, after hearing from Google and the DOJ on potential remedies for the company's dominance in ad tools used by online publishers. Google has said the company supported behavioural remedies such as making real-time bids available to competitors, but that prosecutors cannot legally pursue a bid to force it to sell parts of its business. "The DOJ's additional proposals to force a divestiture of our ad tech tools go well beyond the Court's findings, have no basis in law, and would harm publishers and advertisers," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said in a statement to Reuters. Shares of Alphabet were down nearly 1.1% in premarket trading on Tuesday. AdX, or Ad Exchange, is a marketplace where publishers can make their unsold ad space available to advertisers for purchase on a real-time basis. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their digital ad inventory. Along with ad exchanges, the technology lets news publishers and other online content providers make money by selling ads.
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Business Standard
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
US moves to dismantle Google's ad technology in major antitrust push
Google said in its own filing that divestiture of AdX and DFP wouldn't be technically feasible because neither piece of technology is capable of working outside of Google's proprietary infrastructure AP Washington The US Justice Department is doubling down on its attempt to break up Google by asking it to give up the underlying technology powering the company's digital ad network. The proposed remedy joins a separate federal effort to separate the Chrome browser from its dominant search engine. The government's latest proposal was filed late Monday in a Virginia federal court two-and-half weeks after a federal judge ruled that parts of its lucrative digital ad network have been improperly abusing its market power to stifle competition to the detriment of online publishers. In a 17-page filing, Justice Department lawyers argued that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema should punish Google by ordering the company to offload its AdX business and DFP ad platform, tools that bring together advertisers, who want to market their products, and publishers, who want to sell commercial space on their sites, to bring in revenue. Not surprisingly, it's an idea that Google vehemently plans to oppose when the penalty phase of the antitrust case known as remedy hearings begins in late September. Google already has vowed to appeal Brinkema's ruling that the technology powering the ad network has been breaking the law, but can't do that until the judge rules on its punishment in a decision expected late this year or early next year. Google said in its own filing Monday that divestiture of AdX and DFP wouldn't be technically feasible because neither piece of technology is capable of working outside of Google's proprietary infrastructure. The company proposed its own remedies to restore competition, and reiterated its intent to appeal the ruling. Divestiture is not as simple as selling either the AdX or DFP source code to a willing buyer, Google wrote. The attempt to tear down Google's ad network comes on top of the Justice Department's ongoing effort to have the company part with its popular Chrome browser and impose other restrictions to curtail the power of its ubiquitous search engine, which another federal judge branded an illegal monopoly in a ruling last August. The remedy hearings in the search case are scheduled to conclude later this month, with a ruling from US District Judge Amit Mehta expected by Labour Day. If the Justice Department is able to persuade the two different judges to order its proposed dismantling of Google, it would be the biggest breakup of a US company since AT&T was forced to spin off its phone service into seven separate regional companies more than 40 years ago. Google's Play Store for apps running on its Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones also was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal jury in 2023 and is battling a judge's order that would require it to overhaul a commission system that generates billions of dollars in annual revenue. But hobbling its search engine and digital ad network would be far bigger blows because they are the key cogs in a business that generated USD 265 billion in revenue last year. Google is confronting the breakup threats at the same time the advent of artificial intelligence is changing the way consumers are using technology and seeking information online a shift that could also siphon traffic and money away from a powerhouse that began in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Despite the adversity, Google is still delivering robust financial growth to its corporate parent Alphabet Inc., which is currently valued at USD 2 trillion.
Boston Globe
06-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Vertex reports an earnings miss and pause on cystic fibrosis trial
TAXES IRS lost 31 percent of auditors in DOGE downsizing, report says The Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington, D.C. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg The Internal Revenue Service lost 31 percent of its auditors from buyouts and layoffs tied to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, departures that are likely to hamper the agency's ability to go after tax cheats. More than 3,600 revenue agents — responsible for conducting audits — have left the IRS, according to an IRS watchdog report. In addition, 18 percent of revenue officers, who collect taxes, and 10 percent of tax examiners — front-line employees who review returns — have also left the agency, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a recent report. More than 7,300 probationary employees were terminated. More than 4,100 workers took Musk's 'Fork in the Road' resignation offer, followed by a second round of buyouts where more than 13,100 were approved to leave, according to the report. The IRS had a large number of newly hired probationary auditors due to a funding boost under former president Joe Biden, who increased funding for tax enforcement to rebuild the agency's depleted capabilities. That means the cuts targeting recent hires disproportionately affected those with auditing jobs. The terminations have been the subject of ongoing litigation. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up LEGAL Advertisement US expands attempt to blow up Google with proposed teardown of its ad technology Advertisement Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. JASON HENRY/NYT The US Justice Department is doubling down on its attempt to break up Google by asking a federal judge to force the company to part with some of the technology powering the company's digital ad network. The proposed dismantling coincides with an ongoing federal effort to separate Google's Chrome browser from its dominant search engine. The government's latest proposal was filed late Monday in a Virginia federal court two-and-half weeks after a federal judge ruled that its lucrative digital ad network has been improperly abusing its market power to stifle competition to the detriment of online publishers. In a 17-page filing, Justice Department lawyers argued that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema should punish Google by ordering the company to offload its AdX business and DFP ad platform, tools that bring together advertisers, who want to market their products, and publishers, who want to sell commercial space on their sites, to bring in revenue. The government also is seeking other restrictions, including a 10-year ban on Google from operating a digital ad exchange, to undercut the power of a 'recidivist monopolist.' Not surprisingly, it's an idea that Google vehemently plans to oppose when the penalty phase of the antitrust case — known as remedy hearings — begins in late September. The Justice Department's proposal 'would cause economic chaos and technological dysfunction resulting in harm to millions of advertisers and publishers, and in so doing, degrade the experience of internet users,' Google said in a court filing late Monday. In its counterproposal, Google outlined a plan that it believes will bring more transparency to its ad network and eventually foster more competition. Google proposed the appointment of a trustee to oversee its behavior for three years. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement ACQUISITIONS DoorDash plans to buy Deliveroo and SevenRooms A DoorDash bag on a bicycle in New York. Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg DoorDash announced two deals worth billions of dollars Tuesday, saying it has agreed to acquire Deliveroo, a British food delivery company, and SevenRooms, a platform used by hotels and restaurants to manage reservations and marketing. The acquisitions would enable DoorDash, the dominant food delivery app in the United States, to expand overseas and add reservation management technology to be used by global businesses. DoorDash said its agreement to buy Deliveroo in a roughly $3.9 billion deal would give it a larger footprint in Europe and a presence in the Middle East, covering millions of users in more than 40 countries. It said it had agreed to acquire SevenRooms, a New York City-based software company, for about $1.2 billion. The all-cash transaction was expected to close during the second half of 2025, it said. DoorDash made the announcements as it released financial results for the first quarter of 2025 that showed continued growth in the volume and dollar amounts of grocery and restaurant orders by its users. — NEW YORK TIMES AFFORDABILITY Trump critics launch new group to highlight rising costs An Aldi grocery store in Washington, D.C. Kevin Dietsch/Getty A bipartisan group of President Trump's critics is launching a new organization, dubbed the Cost Coalition, to highlight Trump's struggle to control rising costs in the early months of his presidency. The group expects to be especially active ahead of upcoming elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, according to preliminary plans shared with the Associated Press this week ahead of a formal announcement. The Cost Coalition will push its message through a combination of paid advertising, social media, press interviews, and on-the-ground events with small business leaders, veterans, and the faith community. Terry Holt, a former spokesperson to former president George W. Bush and former House speaker John Boehner, both Republicans, is serving as a senior communications adviser along with Andrew Bates, a former spokesperson for former president Joe Biden, a Democrat. The new group enters a political landscape already packed with powerful voices fighting to shape the national conversation little more than 100 days after Trump began his second term. The Republican president vowed to 'end inflation' on Day 1, but he has focused more on immigration, culture wars, and exacting revenge against his political adversaries while launching a global trade war that has pushed some costs higher and threatens to send the US economy into recession. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement HIGHER EDUCATION Columbia cuts 180 employees after 'intense' strain of losing federal funding The Columbia University campus in New York. BING GUAN/NYT Columbia University will cut 180 staffers working on research impacted by the Trump administration's withdrawal of federal funding for grants, university leadership said in a statement Tuesday. The school said the financial strain had become 'intense' as it continued to fund individuals whose salaries and stipends had until recently been funded with federal support. The reductions amount to 20 percent of individuals employed by Columbia who were funded at least in part by now-terminated grants. 'Moving forward, we will be running lighter footprints of research infrastructure in some areas and, in others, maintaining a level of research continuity as we pursue alternate funding sources,' the university said. 'In some cases, schools and departments are winding down activity but remain prepared to reestablish capabilities if support is restored.' Columbia, which has an endowment of about $15 billion, said it made the decision after reviewing and prioritizing research activity. In March, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia, citing inadequate response to complaints of antisemitism by Jewish students since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement HOME APPLIANCES Trump administration plans to end Energy Star program An energy star logo is displayed on a box for a freezer on Jan. 21 in Evendale, Ohio. Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency plans to end Energy Star, a popular program whose iconic blue labels have certified the energy efficiency of home appliances for more than three decades, according to two people briefed on the matter. During an all-hands meeting Monday of the EPA's Office of Atmospheric Protection, Trump administration officials announced that the office would be dissolved and that Energy Star would be eliminated, the two people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The move, first reported by CNN, builds on the Trump administration's broader attacks on energy efficiency standards for appliances found in millions of American homes. Such standards have become a flash point in the nation's culture wars and a source of conservative resistance to former president Joe Biden's environmental agenda. Yet the decision is likely to draw pushback on Capitol Hill, where Energy Star has historically enjoyed modest bipartisan support. — WASHINGTON POST
