US judge rejects bid to break up Google’s ad business

Alphabet’s Google has escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business, marking the third time in recent years that United States antitrust enforcers have tried to force a Big Tech breakup and lost.

US Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday declined to make Google sell AdX, where publishers pay Google a 20 percent fee to sell ads in auctions that happen instantly when users load websites.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) had argued Google could not be trusted to run the online advertising exchange after Brinkema ruled that Google had illegally quashed competition .

The reasoning behind today’s decision was not immediately made public.

Brinkema filed her opinion under seal for 14 days, leaving the details of how Google must change its ad business unknown for now. She gave the two sides 30 days to submit a joint proposed final judgement.

The case focused on Google’s ad tech “stack” – the suite of tools that website publishers use to sell ads and advertisers use to buy them.

Brinkema ruled last year that Google had willfully monopolised both the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, and had unlawfully tied the two products together.

Google has said it will appeal the underlying liability ruling.