The Trade Desk CEO: Google should exit open web
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Axios' Sara Fischer and The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green. Photo: Kerry Flynn/Axios
Google exiting the open internet could be the remedy for the antitrust ruling and make business sense, The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green told Axios' Sara Fischer during an event on Monday.
Why it matters: The remarks come as Google awaits a federal ruling of what it must do to address its monopoly in the online search market.
What he's saying: "I do think that it makes sense for Google to exit the open internet and to focus on YouTube, which is arguably what DV360 [its programmatic ad platform] does primarily today anyway," Green said when asked about Google's potential negotiations with the government.
- "I do think you can expect Google to exit the open internet at some point, simply because, strategically, it's good for them. It's where all their privacy and antitrust risks come from, but it's not where all the money comes from."
Between the lines: As a programmatic ad platform, The Trade Desk competes with Google and would benefit from this potential move. The Trade Desk CRO Jed Dederick testified at Google's antitrust trial about its struggle to compete with the tech giant.
- But Green stressed in Monday's conversation that his company doesn't compete with Google and instead with one of its lower priorities. He said The Trade Desk does not having a search engine, a space program or self-driving cars.
The big picture: Green's remarks came at the annual leadership meeting for the IAB, a trade association for digital advertising, where the future of the open web has been a key theme.
- Just prior to Green, IAB CEO David Cohen gave his keynote address where he called on the advertising industry to support the open web as Big Tech platforms take a greater share of ad spending and generative AI further threatens news sites' traffic and revenue.
- While Cohen stressed in his keynote that Big Tech's growth isn't bad for the ad industry, Green disagreed.
- "I don't believe that [Google's] success has been good for everyone here, and that's especially true on the [supply-side platform] and publisher side, which is at the core of the trial," Green said.
The bottom line: Green said the open internet will thrive when the business environment becomes fairer.
- "I do think it will make it easier for [supply-side platforms], for instance, to do real yield management for publishers," Green said. "Right now, it's almost impossible to do because of the monopoly."
