Evaluating structural and behavioral remedies for anticompetitive conducts in the ad tech ecosystem

Alexander Witte and Jan Krämer

Telecommunications Policy, 2025, vol. 49, issue 5

Abstract: Alphabet’s extensive vertical integration across the ad tech stack has come under increased scrutiny from competition authorities. This paper examines how Alphabet’s alleged leveraging practices, including tying of first-party inventory and data, restrictive interoperability, and discriminatory auction rules, undermine multihoming and foreclose rival intermediaries. Drawing on a structured analysis of anticompetitive effects and claimed efficiencies, we show that purely behavioral remedies would require constant, resource-intensive oversight in an opaque, rapidly evolving ecosystem. By contrast, a more focused structural realignment, specifically divesting Alphabet’s buy-side services from its publisher-facing operations, directly removes conflicts of interest while refraining from intrusive divestiture of consumer-facing platforms. This targeted breakup has the potential to foster genuine competition across the ad tech value chain, mitigates the need for perpetual monitoring, and if complemented by behavioral remedies, preserves important efficiencies that benefit advertisers, publishers, and users.

Keywords: Antitrust; Digital markets; Ad tech; Structural remedies; Behavioral remedies; Competition policy; Regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2025.102955

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