US Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Break Up Google's AdX Advertising Exchange

Google has avoided a forced sale of its AdX advertising exchange after a US federal judge rejected the Department of Justice's request to break up part of the company's advertising technology business. In April, Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google had maintained illegal monopolies in parts of the advertising technology market.

The court had previously ruled that Google linked its publisher ad server with AdX in ways that restricted competition and disadvantaged publishers and rival advertising technology providers. The Department of Justice argued that structural separation was necessary because Google could not be relied upon to operate AdX fairly, but Google opposed the proposed divestiture, saying it would be technically complex and disrupt businesses using its services.

The court accepted behavioural remedies instead, intended to address competition concerns. A detailed version of the ruling is expected to be released after confidential information is redacted.