Google yet again avoided a breakup of its business — but it will have to play nicer
A federal judge has ruled that Google will not be forced to break up its adtech business, rejecting the DOJ's 'nuclear option' following an antitrust monopoly finding. However, the company must still implement behavioral remedies to ensure fairer competition in the advertising market.
Why it matters
This decision sets a significant precedent for how the US government handles antitrust enforcement against major tech monopolies, favoring behavioral regulation over structural divestiture.
Sundar Pichai's Google escaped another attempt to break up its business. Bloomberg/Getty Images Breaking up is never easy. And now Google doesn't have to do it. A judge ruled Google doesn't have to sell off parts of its adtech business. That said, it faces other remedies after a judge found it held an illegal adtech monopoly. Google escapes again. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Google doesn't have to break up its adtech business — which was the nuclear option sought by the Justice Department after the tech company was found to have operated an illegal monopoly in certain online advertising markets. It's the second time in recent history that Google has fended off a breakup attempt from the DOJ. Last year, a federal judge in a separate case that concerned Google's dominance of the US search market rejected a forced divestiture of its Chrome browser.
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