Google Escapes Ad Tech Breakup with Behavioral Remedies

A federal judge has rejected the US Justice Department's push to break up Google's advertising technology business, opting for behavioral remedies instead. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema declined the DOJ's request to force Google to sell off parts of its ad exchange and publisher ad server businesses.

The ruling is a relief for Google, whose parent company Alphabet had been bracing for the possibility of a court-ordered breakup of its ad tech business. A full breakup could have reshaped the entire online advertising ecosystem, similar to the kind of structural remedies once floated in the Microsoft antitrust case decades ago.

The judge will adopt most of the behavioral changes proposed by both the DOJ and Google's legal team, with some modifications. The fixes could include restrictions on Google's ability to use self-preferencing tactics in its ad auctions and forcing Google to open up more of its ad server data to third parties.