Judge Blocks Forced Sale of Google Advertising Exchange

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Wednesday that Google is not required to sell off its advertising exchange, preventing a forced structural breakup of the company's advertising technology business. The decision follows an April 2025 ruling which determined that Google had illegally monopolized two advertising technology markets.

While the judge rejected the United States Department of Justice's request to force the sale of Google's AdX, she ordered the company to implement behavioral changes to its business practices. These remedies include requiring Google to make its ad tech tools compatible with those of its competitors and increasing the amount of information shared with publishers. The specific details of these mandates were issued under seal, and a redacted version of the decision is expected later this month.

The United States Department of Justice argued that a structural breakup was the only way to curb Google's dominance in the market. Google countered that behavioral changes would be sufficient and warned that a forced sale would harm small publishers. The Justice Department may still appeal the ruling.