Google Spares AdX Exchange from Forced Breakup

Google has escaped a forced breakup of its AdX advertising exchange after a US District Judge rejected the Department of Justice's bid to require the company to sell the platform.

The decision, made by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, comes after the DOJ and a coalition of states sued Google in 2023 for allegedly dominating markets for advertising technology used by online publishers and websites.

Brinkema had previously ruled in April 2025 that Google held illegal monopolies over publisher ad servers and ad exchanges, and had unlawfully tied publishers using its ad server to its AdX exchange. At the time, she said Google's conduct had 'substantially harmed' publisher customers, the competitive process, and consumers of information on the open web.

Google argued that a forced sale would be technically difficult and lead to a lengthy transition that could hurt customers. The company also pointed out that the DOJ's proposal differed from an earlier offer by Google to sell AdX as part of an effort to resolve a European Union antitrust investigation.