Google Escapes AdTech Breakup as Judge Rejects DOJ Demands

Google has escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business after US Judge Leonie Brinkema declined to force the company to sell AdX, a platform where publishers pay Google a 20% fee to sell ads in real-time auctions.

The ruling marked the third time in recent years that US antitrust enforcers have tried to break up Big Tech and lost. The Department of Justice had argued that Google could not be trusted to run AdX after Brinkema ruled that the company had illegally quashed competition.

Instead, the judge accepted behavioral remedies proposed by Google, including providing real-time bid access to competitors. The ruling is seen as a blow to efforts to curb Big Tech's power over the US economy.

Google welcomed the court decision, with executive Lee-Anne Mulholland saying that it rejected the DOJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow.