Google Wins Reprieve from Breakup, but Antitrust Rulings Remain Hollow
A US District Judge has rejected the Department of Justice's (DoJ) efforts to force Google to sell its AdX ad exchange, a major blow to the antitrust case against the tech giant.
Last year, Google was convicted of abusing its search business and facing potential divestitures of Chrome browser and Android operating system. Now, in a similar ruling, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema has rejected the DoJ's request for Google to sell AdX, instead opting for behavioral remedies that will require Google to change its conduct.
The DoJ had sought to force Google to open-source the final-auction logic in its DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad server and potentially divest its DFP business. However, Brinkema has rejected these requests, instead accepting 'most' of the parties' proposed behavioral remedies.
Google sees this as a win, with Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, stating that the company is pleased the Court rejected the DoJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow. However, critics argue that without actual structural remedies, antitrust rulings are just 'inconvenient speed bumps' for Google.
The specific obligations Google will face are not yet public, as Brinkema's explanatory opinion remains under seal. Public Knowledge, a free speech and Internet advocacy group, described the decision as one that leaves Google's monopoly power substantially intact.