Google will not be forced to sell key parts of its advertising technology business after a US federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s proposed breakup.
Judge Leonie Brinkema’s September 2 order allows Google to retain AdX, its advertising exchange, and DFP, the publisher ad server inside Google Ad Manager. The court also rejected demands to open-source DFP’s auction logic.
Google will instead face behavioral restrictions. The exact requirements remain sealed while the court reviews the ruling for confidential information.
The decision follows an April 2025 judgment that Google illegally maintained monopolies in publisher ad servers and online advertising exchanges. The court also found that Google unlawfully tied DFP and AdX together, making it extremely difficult for publishers to leave.
Google argued that separating the products would disrupt businesses using its advertising tools. The Justice Department argued that Google could not be trusted to continue operating AdX after years of suppressing competition.
For publishers, the outcome arrives at a particularly difficult time. Chartbeat data shared with Axios showed Google Search traffic to publishers falling 34% over the previous year.
Search traffic and advertising technology are separate legal issues, but publishers experience both on the same balance sheet. Google influences how many readers reach a website while remaining embedded in the machinery used to monetize those visits.
The News/Media Alliance welcomed parts of the ruling but said stronger protections were needed to ensure publishers receive fair value for their advertising space.
Google was found to have harmed publishers, yet it retains both products it unlawfully tied together. Publishers get new rules, but no clean escape from Google.
—
Photo: “Albert V Bryan Federal District Courthouse” by Tim Evanson, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped from the original.
Start the conversation by posting the first comment