Google Spared Breakup, Ordered to Retool Digital Ads Business
A US federal judge has ordered Google to retool its digital advertising system, but spared the company from being broken up. The decision comes after a year-long antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia delivered the ruling on Wednesday, marking the second time this year that Google has received a reprieve from a proposed breakup. In her decision, Brinkema agreed to most of the remedies suggested by both sides.
The ad tech case dates back to 2023 when the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, resulting in an illegal monopoly judgment last year. Critics of Big Tech condemned the ruling, with Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project, saying it sends the wrong message at the wrong time.
Google's corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., has a market value of $4.11 trillion and has recently been turbocharged by AI technology. Since the search monopoly case decision came down in Washington D.C., Alphabet's stock price has surged 45%, creating an additional $1.3 trillion in shareholder wealth.