• Google will face a trial on September 22 regarding antitrust remedies.
• The DOJ seeks to force Google to sell its publisher ad server and ad exchange tools.
• The upcoming trial will address how to restore competition in online advertising.
• Google argues that such a sell-off could harm internet users and lacks interested buyers.
• A judge previously ruled that Google's policies were anticompetitive.

Alphabet's Google is scheduled to appear in court on September 22 to address concerns around its monopoly in advertising technology. The proceedings involve U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, tasked with determining remedies to enhance competition within online advertising markets, following a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that requires Google to divest from crucial advertising tools such as its publisher ad server and ad exchange systems, according to Reuters and Channel News Asia.

This trial stems from a ruling where Judge Brinkema found Google's practices to be anticompetitive, as the tech giant had improperly linked the use of its ad exchange to its ad server, a ruling she stated was "not in the best interests" of Google's publisher customers, impacting competition and internet users alike. The DOJ's attorney Julia Tarver Wood noted that the proposed divestiture could take several years, highlighting the complexities involved, according to Reuters and India Times.

In response, Google has voiced opposition to the forced divestiture, arguing that it may inadvertently harm users of the internet and claiming difficulties in finding prospective buyers for the ad tech components. Google's counsel, Karen Dunn, has proposed behavioral remedies—such as improved access for competitors to real-time bidding—as feasible alternatives to structural changes proposed by the DOJ, according to India Times and Channel News Asia.