Judge Rejects DOJ Request to Break Up Google Ad Tech

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Wednesday that Google does not have to sell off its advertising exchange, avoiding a forced breakup of its advertising technology business. The decision follows an April 2025 ruling that Google illegally monopolized two advertising technology markets by tying its Doubleclick for Publishers and AdX tools together, which Judge Brinkema noted had "substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web".

While rejecting the United States Department of Justice's bid for divestiture, the judge ordered behavioral changes to restore competition. These remedies, which remain partially under seal, include making Google's ad tech tools compatible with rivals, restricting self-preferencing auction tactics, and sharing more real-time information with publishers. The parties have 30 days to submit a jointly proposed Final Judgment.

Google expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating the court protected tools that help small businesses grow. The Justice Department stated it is evaluating next steps but noted it was pleased with the substantial relief ordered. This marks the second time in a year Google has avoided a court-ordered breakup, following a separate search monopoly case where Judge Amit P. Mehta also opted for behavioral changes over the forced sale of the Chrome browser.