A U.S. judge has ruled against the Department of Justice’s effort to compel Google to divest its advertising exchange, AdX, enabling the tech giant to maintain a crucial segment of its advertising technology division. This decision comes after a 2025 verdict that concluded Google had unlawfully sustained monopolies in the markets for publisher ad servers and advertising exchanges.
Judge Leonie Brinkema, however, did approve most of the proposed restrictions on Google’s activities, even as she denied the request to force the sale of AdX. The Justice Department, along with several states, had contended that Google’s historical conduct warranted the relinquishment of control over AdX. Google countered this argument by asserting that dismantling the platform would pose technical challenges and potentially disrupt services for customers.
This ruling marks another obstacle for U.S. antitrust officials in their ongoing attempts to dismantle significant technology firms. Similar cases targeting other large tech companies have also not resulted in mandatory asset sales, indicating the difficulties faced by regulators in this domain.
Despite retaining its advertising exchange, Google will be subject to behavioral measures aimed at mitigating competitive concerns and improving its interactions with publishers. These restrictions are intended to address issues related to competition, though they fall short of the structural changes the government had sought.