In what may become one of the most consequential legal battles in digital advertising history, Texas and a coalition of over a dozen states are taking Google to trial starting August 11, 2025. The case, years in the making, centers on Google’s dominance in the ad tech stack—specifically its control over the ad exchange, demand-side platform (DSP), and publisher ad server. The outcome could rewrite the playbook for how digital ads are bought, sold, and optimized.
The stakes? Over $100 billion in penalties and the potential for forced divestiture of core Google ad tech assets. For advertisers and agencies alike, this is not just courtroom drama—it’s a tech stack-altering event.
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⚖️ The Background: A Deep Dive into Google’s Ad Tech Monopoly Allegations
Filed in 2020 and led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the lawsuit alleges that Google engaged in a series of exclusionary tactics to monopolize the ad tech stack:
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Vertical Integration Control: Google owns the DSP (DV360), the ad exchange (AdX), and the publisher ad server (Google Ad Manager, formerly DoubleClick). This gives Google end-to-end control over the ad auction process.
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Preferential Treatment: Google allegedly ensured its ad exchange would win bids by giving DV360 privileged access to inventory and auction data, and routing non-Google DSPs through slower paths.
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Header Bidding Sabotage: Internally called “Project Jedi Blue,” Google allegedly conspired with Facebook to suppress the rise of header bidding—a technology that threatened Google’s auction dominance.
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Opaque Auctions: The platform allegedly misled publishers and advertisers about who was winning auctions and how bids were scored, prioritizing Google’s own yield over true auction fairness.
These practices, the lawsuit claims, allowed Google to inflate ad prices while reducing choice and transparency for advertisers.
🚨 The Trial Ahead: Legal Strategies and Courtroom Tech Debates
Set to begin on August 11, 2025, the Texas trial will feature a jury—a rarity in antitrust litigation. Both sides are already filing motions to influence what evidence can be presented:
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Google is requesting the exclusion of its financial data, internal communications about other lawsuits, and market share statistics that could bias jurors.
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Texas is pushing to prevent Google from referencing the political leanings of participating states or using unrelated DOJ investigations as deflections.
Expect this trial to center heavily on:
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The technical functioning of real-time bidding (RTB)
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Data latency in header bidding vs Open Bidding (Google’s alternative)
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The role of first-party cookies and user-level ID sharing in auction dominance
It will likely feature testimony from engineers, economists, and former insiders who can speak to how Google’s infrastructure favors its own ecosystem.
📈 How This Impacts Advertisers, DSPs, and the Programmatic Ecosystem
If Texas prevails, the implications will be vast for:
Advertisers
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Increased Transparency: Advertisers may gain access to more granular data on bid requests, auction participation, and win rates.
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More Competitive CPMs: With enforced interoperability, DSPs could compete more fairly, potentially lowering ad costs.
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Stronger Attribution Models: Decoupling Google’s stack could encourage better cross-platform tracking and attribution, not just last-click bias.
Agencies & DSPs
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Greater Platform Diversity: Agencies may find more opportunities with alternative DSPs like The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP, or MediaMath.
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Custom Bidding Algorithms: Opening the stack may allow third-party platforms to run their own logic on Google inventory—improving targeting and ROAS.
Publishers
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Revival of Header Bidding: Independent exchanges and wrappers like Prebid.js could gain ground as Google is forced to interoperate.
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Higher Yield Through True Competition: Removing preferential treatment would allow publishers to receive the best possible price across exchanges.
📆 Strategic Actions to Take Right Now
Whether Google wins or loses, digital marketers should be preparing for a shifting landscape:
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Conduct a Stack Audit: Evaluate where your campaigns rely on Google-owned tech. Map out your current usage of DV360, Google Ads, and Google Ad Manager.
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Test Alternative Platforms: Begin testing campaigns on independent DSPs and SSPs. Diversifying now reduces your exposure to sudden changes.
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Watch for Policy Updates: Google may make preemptive changes ahead of the trial to avoid harsh rulings. Keep an eye on new beta features, auction model changes, and transparency tools.
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Invest in First-Party Data Strategy: The future of ad tech is increasingly privacy-driven. Advertisers should double down on CRM integration and clean room technology.
🔹Why This Trial Is Bigger Than It Looks
This case is more than a legal battle—it’s a referendum on the future of the open web. The decisions made in this trial could dismantle Google’s control over the $600B+ digital advertising industry.
Whether you’re an advertiser trying to maximize ROAS, a publisher seeking better yield, or an agency driving performance, the outcome of Texas vs. Google will impact how we all work.
Mark your calendar for August 11. The ad tech world will be watching.
