Google defeats US justice department bid to force ad tech sale

Judge declines to make Google sell AdX in win for firm against US antitrust enforcers' attempts to break up big tech Alphabet's Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia rejected US antitrust enforcers' attempt to force a sale of Google's online advertising exchange. While the ad exchange is a small part of Google's business, the ruling is the second powerful symbolic victory against the US Department of Justice in its efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies. US judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to make Google sell AdX, where publishers pay Google a 20% fee to sell ads in auctions that happen instantly when users load websites. She accepted most of the parties' proposed behavioral remedies. The justice department and a broad coalition of states sued Google in 2023 over its dominance in markets for advertising technology used by online publishers and websites.