Judge Blocks Divestiture of Google's Ad Exchange Business Despite Ruling it an Illegal Monopoly

A US federal judge has ruled that Google's ad exchange business is an illegal online monopoly but will not be forced to sell it off. This decision marks a significant victory for Google and a defeat for the US antitrust authorities, who have been unable to punish the company for its alleged monopolistic practices.

The case centers around Google's control of the market for ad servers for publishers and ad auctions. The Justice Department had recommended that Google be forced to sell off AdX, its ad exchange business, but Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected this proposal. This is the second time in under a year that Google has avoided being forced to divest itself of part of the company responsible for its monopoly.

The ruling suggests that there are no consequences for companies like Google when they corner the market and keep competitors out illegally. The Justice Department had previously concluded that Google's payment of billions to Apple, Samsung, and other companies to be the default search engine on their devices closed off distribution channels for its competitors in 2020.