The alleged 2017 deal between Google and Facebook to kill header bidding, a way for multiple ad exchanges to compete fairly in automated ad auctions, was negotiated by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and endorsed by both Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (now with Meta) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, according to an updated complaint filed in the Texas-led antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Texas, 14 other US states, and the Commonwealths of Kentucky and Puerto Rico accused Google of unlawfully monopolizing the online ad market and rigging ad auctions in a December, 2020, lawsuit. The plaintiffs subsequently filed an amendment complaint in October, 2021, that includes details previously redacted.

On Friday, Texas et al. filed a third amended complaint [PDF] that fills in more blanks and expands the allegations by 69 more pages.

The fortified filing adds additional information about previous revelations and extends the scope of concern to cover in-app advertising in greater detail.

Presently, there are three other US government-backed unfair competition claims against Google ongoing: a federal antitrust lawsuit from the US Justice Department, a challenge from Colorado and 38 other State Attorneys General (filed around the same time as the Texas-led complaint), as well as a competition claim focused on Android and the Google Play Store filed last July.

The third amendment complaint delves into more detail about how Google allegedly worked “to kill header bidding,” which Google is said to have viewed as an existential threat to its position as an ad market gatekeeper. It elaborates on the negotiation between Google and Facebook to convince Facebook to stop supporting header bidding in exchange for favorable treatment. The deal, referred to as “Jedi Blue” internally and eventually as “Open Bidding” when discussed publicly, allegedly allowed Facebook to win ad auctions even when o