A U.S. federal court has issued a ruling that will become an important milestone in antitrust practice in recent years. Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected the Department of Justice's demand for the forced sale of Google's advertising exchange AdX. This means that plans to break up the technology giant's business, which regulators had actively promoted, have officially failed. The market reacted instantly — Alphabet shares rose, as investors viewed the verdict as the removal of one of the company's main long-term risks.
The essence of the dispute and the parties' positions
The proceedings had dragged on since 2023, when the U.S. Department of Justice and a number of states accused Google of illegally monopolizing the market for online advertising technology. According to the prosecution, the company artificially tied publishers to its AdX exchange, charging a 20% commission on every transaction, which harmed competitors and end users of the open internet.
In April 2025, Judge Brinkema sided with the prosecution on the fundamental issue of violating antitrust law. However, when it came to choosing the remedy, the court showed restraint. Instead of a radical divestiture of assets, the judge ordered adjustments to Google's advertising services, in particular, providing competitors with broader access to auction bidding data. Google itself consistently argued that selling AdX was technically complex and would deal a blow to clients' interests.
Context: a series of regulatory defeats
This is already the third major defeat for U.S. authorities in their attempts to forcibly break up IT giants. Previously, courts allowed Google to retain control over the Chrome browser, and Meta (recognized as an extremist organization in Russia) over Instagram and WhatsApp. Notably, AdX brings Alphabet relatively little: with the company's total market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, this service in 2020 provided only 4.1% of revenue and 1.5% of operating profit.
Nevertheless, it is too early to relax. Google faces new challenges ahead: pressure from European regulators, shaky positions in the field of artificial intelligence, and rising AI development costs that are increasingly worrying shareholders.
My view: this ruling confirms that even amid intensifying antitrust pressure, U.S. courts are extremely reluctant to resort to such radical measures as breaking up a business. For the market, this is a signal that regulatory risks for large platforms are often overestimated. However, in the long term, a far more significant factor for Alphabet will be not the outcome of legal battles, but the company's ability to compete in the AI race, where its positions still look vulnerable.