Google Wins Big as Judge Rejects DOJ Breakup Demand

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Google does not have to dismantle its online advertising business, handing the tech giant a major victory in a high-stakes antitrust case the Justice Department filed in 2023. The decision marks the latest instance of a federal judge declining to order a corporate breakup as a remedy for anticompetitive behavior.

The Justice Department had argued that the only way to curb Google's dominance over digital advertising was to force it to sell off its ad exchange. But the judge disagreed, saying she would instead consider more restrained options for injecting competition into the business. The full opinion remains sealed for a week or two while both sides review any confidential business information contained in it.

WSJ's Dave Michaels, who covers corporate law enforcement, described the ruling as "a huge win for Google and a big loss for the Justice Department." The case involves a massive business that Google has long dominated, generating considerable frustration from website publishers who rely on Google's tools to manage ad space on their digital properties.