Google dodges another breakup attempt
A US District Court judge has rejected the Justice Department's request to break up Google's ad tech business, opting instead for behavioral remedies. The ruling addresses Google's illegal monopolization of publisher ad servers and exchanges while clearing it of charges regarding advertiser-side tools.
Why it matters
This decision sets a significant precedent for how antitrust regulators handle big tech monopolies, favoring operational restrictions over corporate divestiture.
US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema declined the Justice Department’s request to make Google sell off parts of its ad tech business, accepting milder remedies to restore competition to markets it illegally monopolized for years.
Brinkema said she would adopt most of the behavioral changes proposed by the parties, with some modifications. But those won’t become public until the parties meet to work out any additional proposed revisions and to review the judge’s opinion for confidential information that must be redacted. They could include proposals like restricting Google from using self-preferencing ad auction tactics or letting third-party ad tech tools access the same real-time information as Google.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in