Google Escapes Breakup as Judge Orders Behavioral Remedies
A US district court judge has ruled that Google's ad business will not be broken up, despite being found to have built its dominance on an illegal monopoly over online advertising.
The decision by Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia comes after a long trial and marks the fourth time lawmakers have tried to force Google apart.
Rather than breaking up the company, Judge Brinkema has ordered Google to implement a series of behavioral remedies, including limits on self-preferencing tactics, data-sharing with publishers, and nondiscriminatory treatment of rival exchanges and ad servers.
The judge's decision draws from most of the behavioral changes proposed by both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google during the trial, but also includes some compromises that have been criticized as too lenient on Google.
One of the key concerns about a breakup was the lack of a credible buyer for Google's ad exchange, which would trigger its own antitrust review before a deal could be completed. Judge Brinkema also raised concerns about the practicality of breaking up the company, given the fast-paced nature of the ad tech market.