Google Avoids Break-Up in Ad-Tech Anti-Trust Case

A federal judge ruled that Google does not need to divest parts of its ad-tech business, despite her earlier ruling that the company monopolized parts of that market, the second time it has avoided an antitrust-inspired breakup.

In April 2025, US District Court judge Leonie Brinkema found Google guilty of monopolizing parts of the market for advertising technology, through which Google helps independent websites sell advertisements. The US government argued Google should be forced to sell parts of its ad tech business but Brinkema instead ordered “behavioral remedies,” forcing Google to change how it operates rather than divesting the businesses.

It’s not clear exactly what behavioral remedies she’s referring to, as her full opinion won’t be public until later this month, but the government had suggested making Google’s technology more interoperable with products from competitors. Google, for its part, has suggested a similar solution in its proposed remedies, though the two parties differ in some details on how this might be implemented.

Google last year avoided a breakup in a separate antitrust case brought by the government relating to its search business.

“We’re very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ’s proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of regulatory affairs at Google, in a statement.