Google avoids breakup in landmark ad-tech antitrust ruling

A US federal judge has rejected the Department of Justice’s attempt to break up Google’s digital advertising business. In a court order, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema declined to force Google to divest its ad auction platform, AdX, or to open-source key auction technology.

The ruling follows a previous finding that Google had unlawfully maintained monopolies in the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets by tying its products together. While the court upheld the finding of unlawful monopoly maintenance, it opted for behavioral remedies rather than structural divestiture.

The judge directed Google and the plaintiffs to submit a joint proposed final judgment within 30 days. If an agreement cannot be reached, both sides must submit their own versions. This decision follows a similar outcome in a separate antitrust case where a judge declined to force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser.