DOJ and Google Clash Over Ad Exchange Remedies in Proposed Judgment

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google LLC submitted a 41-page proposed final judgment to the Eastern District of Virginia on October 2, 2026, outlining their differing views on how Google's ad-selling tools should treat rivals. The document includes competing text proposals marked by square brackets, indicating unresolved disputes over implementation deadlines, geographic reach, data rights, and the authority of a court-appointed monitor.

Judge Leonie Brinkema previously rejected structural proposals such as the sale of Google's AdX or open-sourcing its auction logic, opting instead for behavioral remedies. The draft judgment requires Google to build an adapter allowing rival ad servers to interact with its ad exchange, AdX, and includes other obligations like providing auction data and deprecating certain pricing rules.

The two sides disagree on key deadlines. The DOJ seeks a six-month timeline for several measures, while Google proposes 12 months. Other points of contention include the geographic scope of the remedies, with Google suggesting a phased global implementation, and the wording around functional equivalence for rival ad servers.

Nothing is final until Judge Brinkema signs the document. The judgment, if approved, would take effect 60 days after entry and expire after six years unless extended. The case highlights ongoing efforts to regulate Google's dominance in the digital advertising market, with significant implications for publishers, advertisers, and competitors.