Google Antitrust Case Avoids Forced Breakup Again as US Judge Rejects Ad-Tech Sale Order

TradingKey - On September 2 ET, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Google (GOOGL) does not need to sell its ad exchange AdX, but must make its ad tech tools interoperable with products operated by competitors. This means Google has once again avoided a forced breakup in the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against its ad business.

According to research firm eMarketer, global digital ad spending is expected to surpass $919.6 billion, making it one of the largest sectors in the tech economy. Google's ad tech stack spans publishers selling display ad space and advertisers participating in auctions, giving it significant influence over ad pricing and display.

Regulators have long argued that controlling both a dominant publisher ad server and one of the largest ad exchanges has enabled Google to favor its own system across multiple stages of the transaction process.

As of press time, Google was up 0.72% at $337.42.

Google stock chart, Source: TradingView

The ruling was issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In a brief order issued under seal, she rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's request to force Google to sell AdX, opting instead to approve behavioral remedies for Google's business operations.

Brinkema wrote in the order: "The behavioral remedies proposed by the parties, as modified by the Court, are adopted." A full, redacted version of the ruling will be released later this month.

In April 2025, the court ruled that Google held an illegal monopoly in two ad tech markets. The DOJ had at that time asked the judge to force Google to sell its ad exchange and to disclose the auction logic that determines which ads are displayed on webpages. Brinkema's latest ruling allows Google to avoid a forced divestiture.