Technology
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Judge rejects US bid to force Google AdX sale
The Economic Times··3 Sept
A US judge in Virginia declined to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange on Wednesday. Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected the Justice Department's divestiture bid but accepted most proposed behavioral remedies. Publishers pay Google a 20 percent fee on AdX auctions. The DOJ sued Google in 2023 over dominance in ad technology markets used by online publishers.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Brinkema had ruled in April 2025 that Google holds illegal monopolies on publisher ad servers and exchanges.
- Google argued a forced AdX sale would be technically difficult and hurt customers.
- Ad Manager represented 4.1 percent of Google's overall revenue in 2020, according to Wedbush research.
What's Happening
- The case is the second symbolic victory for Google against DOJ breakup efforts.
- Brinkema said Google's conduct harmed publishers, competition and consumers of open-web information.
- The DOJ argued Google cannot be trusted to run AdX given its past behavior.
Other Big Tech Antitrust Outcomes
- A Washington judge rejected the FTC's bid to force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Another judge rejected a DOJ bid to make Google sell its Chrome browser.
- US antitrust cases against Amazon and Apple may not reach trial until 2027 at the earliest.
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