Google's Ad Tech Monopoly: Legal Battles and Market Dynamics

We promise, this episode is only a little bit about header bidding. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge’s Alex Heath to talk about some big news in tech regulation: Google lost its ad-tech monopoly trial, which could reshape both Google and the internet altogether. And that’s not the only monopoly news! Meta’s trial also started this week, and Alex was there to see Mark Zuckerberg and others try to defend Instagram, WhatsApp, and the company as a whole. After all that, we talk about OpenAI’s plans to build a social network, and how this company seems to never run out of ambition. Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, and some news about viral cameras and the Switch 2. Which we’ll be yeeting into our homes as soon as possible

Further reading:

• Google loses ad tech monopoly case
• FTC v. Meta live: the latest from the battle over Instagram and WhatsApp
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defends Instagram purchase in antitrust trial
• Zuckerberg defends his empire during FTC antitrust trial
• Mark Zuckerberg suggested spinning off Instagram
• Mark Zuckerberg tells court that Meta made WhatsApp, Instagram better
• Mark Zuckerberg once suggested wiping all Facebook friends lists to boost usage
• Meta reportedly offered $1 billion to settle the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit.
• Zuckerberg defends his empire during FTC antitrust trial
• Google, Apple, and Snap aren’t happy about Meta’s poorly-redacted slides
• Meta’s antitrust trial slide redactions aren’t actually hiding anything

• OpenAI is building a social network
• OpenAI debuts its GPT-4.1 flagship AI model
• OpenAI might finally get better model names soon.
• OpenAI’s upgraded o3 model can use images when reasoning
• ChatGPT will now remember your old conversations
• OpenAI is reportedly considering a $3 billion deal to buy AI coding tool Windsurf.
• Netflix is testing a new OpenAI-powered search

• Brendan Carr on X
• The Media and Democracy Project on Bluesky
• Trump excludes smartphones, computers, chips from higher tariffs
• Smartphone tariffs are coming back in ‘a month or two,’ says Trump admin
• TSMC is unfazed by tariffs.
• Microsoft’s Phil Spencer: “I want to support Switch 2.”
• In pursuit of a viral, five-year-old compact camera

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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