Ruling Overview
A federal judge has ruled that Google will not be forced to sell its ad exchange, AdX, despite an earlier finding that the company violated antitrust law. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia rejected the Department of Justice's (DOJ) proposed structural remedies, which would have required Google to divest its ad exchange and open-source some auction logic in its ad server.
Instead, Google will be required to adopt behavioral changes, though the specifics have not yet been disclosed. In a two-page filing previewing the full opinion, Brinkema wrote that "most" of the government's proposed behavioral remedies, with modification, were accepted. Those proposals included limits on self-preferencing tactics, data sharing with publishers, and nondiscriminatory treatment of third-party ad exchanges and ad servers. The extent to which these or other remedies will be adopted remains unclear.
The decision was issued under seal to allow the parties time to review it and request any necessary redactions. Google has not yet responded to requests for comment from Adweek, but Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, expressed satisfaction with the ruling. "We're very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow," she said in a statement.
Background of the Case
The DOJ and eight states sued Google in 2023, accusing the company of using its monopoly position to charge higher fees and facilitate a higher proportion of ad sales. The government asserted that Google held an 87 percent share of the ad-sales tech market. Last year, Brinkema ruled that Google violated antitrust law by forcing publishers that host ads on the company's servers to use AdX. The court found that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), to its ad exchange.
Following that ruling, the DOJ asked for a forced breakup of Google's adtech stack. The latest decision, issued Wednesday, denies that request, allowing Google to retain ownership of its core adtech business while requiring changes to certain practices.
Implications for Publishers
Publishers use AdX to sell unused ad space to advertisers in real time, paying Google a 20 percent fee for the service. The ruling comes as several publishers, including The Atlantic, USA Today, Vox Media, and Penske Media (the owner of Billboard), have filed their own lawsuits against Google over its adtech practices.
This case is separate from another federal antitrust action against Google, in which a judge determined that the company operated an illegal monopoly in the online search market. In that case, the judge ordered Google to share some search data with competitors and avoid certain exclusive distribution contracts but did not require the sale of its Chrome browser.