Google Avoids Ad Exchange Sale as Judge Orders Tech Integration
Brinkema accepted most behavioral remedies after finding Google had illegally tied its ad server and AdX, and said the market was harmed, the DOJ said.
- On Wednesday, U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, rejected the Department of Justice's bid to force Alphabet's Google to sell AdX, its online advertising exchange where publishers pay a 20% fee.
- The DOJ argued Google cannot be trusted to run AdX given its past behavior, while Google contended that a forced sale would be technically difficult and result in a painful transition harming customers.
- Financial data shows Ad Manager represented 4.1% of Google's overall revenue and 1.5% of operating profit in 2020, according to Wedbush research, though more recent figures were redacted from court documents.
- This ruling marks the third consecutive time a judge has rejected a bid by U.S. antitrust enforcers to break up Big Tech, following similar outcomes for Meta Platforms and Google's Chrome browser.
- Judge Brinkema accepted most of the proposed behavioral remedies instead of a breakup, fueling questions about whether courts can effectively check Big Tech's unprecedented power over the U.S. economy.
117 Articles
117 Articles
SCIENCE & TECH: Ruling letting Google dodge breakup of digital ad monopoly draws critics’ outrage: ‘Olympic level of mental gymnastics’
A federal judge is coming under harsh criticism for sparing Google from a forced breakup of its digital advertising empire – despite earlier ruling that the Big Tech giant was operating two separate illegal monopolies in the online ad sector. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Wednesday shut down the Justice Department’s proposal to make the company sell off its “AdX” marketplace, where it extracted a 20% fee to conduct online ad sales in real…
Google avoids break-up over ad tech monopoly
Google has staved off a break-up of its US$30 billion advertising technology business after a three-year antitrust fight with the US government.A US court has ruled against forcing the technology giant to offload AdX, its advertising exchange that auctions off digital advertising inventory, but instead will compel Google to make unspecified changes to business practices […]
Federal judge rules in favor of Google’s advertising monopoly
by WorldTribune Staff, September 2, 2026 Non-AI Real World News A federal judge on Wednesday spared Google from breaking up its advertising monopoly, instead ordering the Big Tech behemoth to retool the system powering its digital advertising. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee, rejected the Department of Justice’s request to force Google […]
Google Won't Have To Break Up Its Advertising Business, Federal Judge Rules
Google will not have to break up its advertising operations, a federal judge has ruled, though it will have to alter its business practices. Leonie M. Brinkema, U.S. District Judge of the Eastern District of Virginia, handed down her decision Wednesday. The ruling, which remains under seal, comes after Brinkema concluded last year that the […]
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 36% of the sources lean Left, 36% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
