US Judge rejects Google Ad tech breakup, orders open auctions and compliance monitor
Rejecting a structural divestiture, the court mandates behavioral fixes, ordering Google to lift auction restrictions and appoint a monitor
In a major antitrust ruling, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered Google to loosen rules governing its online advertising auctions and appoint an internal compliance monitor, while stopping short of forcing a structural breakup of the company’s ad tech business.
The decision follows the court's earlier finding that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over publisher ad servers and open-web display advertising tools.
The judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) heavy push to force Alphabet to sell off its lucrative AdX ad exchange and other core publishing assets.
Rather than a divestiture, the court mandated behavioral adjustments.
Google must stop requiring websites that use its ad server to also use its ad exchange (AdX) and must lift restrictive auction policies (such as Unified Pricing Rules) that critics argued locked publishers into its ecosystem and depressed ad earnings.
Google is required to establish an internal oversight mechanism with an antitrust compliance monitor to oversee adherence to the changes for a period of six years.
While the DOJ hailed parts of the framework as a significant step toward restoring competition, critics and market watchdogs noted that sparing Google from a breakup leaves its core advertising machinery intact. Meanwhile, Google stated it intends to appeal the underlying liability finding regarding its Google Ad Manager publishing tools.
Google said on Wednesday it disagreed with Brinkema's liability ruling on its Google Ad Manager publishing tool, and will appeal.
It also maintained that a divestiture would have made it harder for small businesses to reach customers.
The decision spared Google from having to break up another part of its internet empire as the Mountain View, California-based company races to expand in AI against such rivals as Anthropic and OpenAI.
Last September, a different judge ordered Google to open up competition in online search, but declined to require a sale of its widely used Chrome browser.
Annual global digital advertising spending could grow to $605 billion next year from $424 billion in 2023, according to the judge's decision.
Advertising accounted for about 73% of Alphabet's revenue last year. The company's market value exceeds $4.1 trillion.
