Google Avoids Breakup in Ads Antitrust Ruling

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema ruled that Google will not be forced to break up its ads business, but will have to make changes instead.

In a decision on Wednesday, the judge rejected the Justice Department's proposal for Google to sell off part of its 'network' ad business, which accounts for around 12% of Alphabet's overall revenue.

Google had argued that forcing it to spin out this part of its business would actually harm publishers, as they would have to buy ads through more expensive rival networks.

The case dates back to 2023, when the federal government and 17 states sued Google over allegations that it unlawfully maintained and exploited its ad monopoly in the open-web display publisher ad server market and the open-web display ad exchange market.

While Google has been found guilty of violating U.S. antitrust laws around its search practices, this ruling marks a more lenient approach compared to Europe, where Google has faced over $10 billion worth of antitrust fines in recent years.