Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Force AdX Sale in Google Antitrust Case

A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department's bid to force Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL, NASDAQ: GOOG) to divest its AdX exchange, ruling that behavioural changes rather than a break-up will remedy the company's illegal dominance of the online advertising exchange market.

The decision, issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia, spares Alphabet from having to sell off any part of the business. Instead, Google will need to make its advertising tools interoperate with rival platforms, according to Bloomberg.

This is not a reversal of Google's underlying liability, as Brinkema had already found that Google held illegal monopolies in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets in April 2025. The government's case against Alphabet had been ongoing for nearly three years, with a remedies trial running through September 2025.

The ruling marks the third consecutive rejection of a Big Tech break-up bid by the Justice Department. Alphabet shares closed at $337.26 on Wednesday, up just 0.23% on the day.