Judge Denies Google Breakup Request Despite Antitrust Ruling

A federal judge has refused to break up Google's Ad-Tech business despite ruling that it illegally monopolized parts of the digital advertising market.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected the Justice Department's request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange, a key part of its online advertising business.

Instead, she imposed restrictions on how Google can operate the business to limit anticompetitive conduct and give rivals more room to compete.

The decision leaves intact Brinkema's April 2025 finding that Google violated federal antitrust law by unlawfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power in two markets involving technology used by online publishers: publisher ad servers and advertising exchanges.