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Unsealed documents in Google's antitrust case outline "behavioral" remedies that Google must comply with

By Kris Gunnars · Sep 17, 2026 5:48 AM ET
Colored network cables plugged into equipment in a data-center rack.
Photo by Adarsh Chauhan on Unsplash

Two weeks ago, a federal judge rejected the Justice Department's bid to break up the ad-tech business of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc. The documents underlying the decision and the proposed remedies were unsealed on Wednesday (1, 4).

  • Judge Brinkema rejects the need to break up the ad-tech business and believes that behavioral remedies will suffice to increase competition and reverse the harm caused by Google's conduct (1).
  • The remedies include but are not limited to (1, 3):
    • Google must allow Prebid, an open-source header bidding tool, to provide real-time bids on Google's Ad Exchange.
    • Publishers will get detailed data on ad auction bids from Google's ad server.
    • Google's Adwords platform can not bit directly in the publisher ad server for these ads.
  • These remedies will apply for a period of six years, less than the 15 years that the goverment had proposed, and can be extended by the court if needed. They also apply globally, rather than just in the United States (1, 4).
  • Compliance will be overseen by a monitor, and a technical committee, and an internal compliance officer, all of which will be paid for by Google (1, 3).
  • According to judge Brinkema, the remedies "will be sufficient to effectively pry open to competition the ad tech markets that were injured by Google’s ​unlawful conduct" (4).
  • Google said it disagrees with some of the findings and will file an appeal (4).

Sources & Further Reading

  1. "Memorandum Opinion, United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-108". U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. September 2, 2026.
  2. "Order, United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-108". U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. September 2, 2026.
  3. "Department of Justice Again Wins Substantial Relief Against Google". U.S. Department of Justice. September 16, 2026.
  4. "Google should relax ad tech rules, appoint antitrust monitor, US judge finds". Reuters. September 16, 2026.