Google Escapes Accountability for Dominating Display Advertising
US Judge Leonie Brinkema has made a decision in the case of Google's dominance over display advertising, finding the tech giant liable for monopolization. However, she failed to hold Google accountable by not directing them to divest their must-have ad exchange AdX and publisher-side tool DFP.
This decision is seen as an 'embarrassing capitulation' to Google, allowing them to continue extracting excessive rents from publishers and advertisers. The Open Markets Institute's Director Barry Lynn stated that this decision fails the American people and democracy, further degrading journalism and informed debate vital for a healthy democracy.
The judge's own earlier findings about the harm caused by Google's actions contradict her current decision. In April 2025, she found Google liable for monopolization on multiple grounds, but now refuses to take the logical next step of forcing them to divest their tools. Lynn compared this to 'imprisoning America's publishers and advertisers in a Panopticon where the jailer knows everything and the inmates almost nothing', only to decide that closing this prison would be too harsh for Google.
The decision also violates settled US antitrust doctrine, as the Supreme Court has made clear that divestitures are the 'most effective of antitrust remedies'. The Open Markets Institute is calling on the DOJ and states to appeal this decision to the Fourth Circuit.