Google Defeats DOJ Bid to Force AdX Sale

A federal judge in Virginia rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s bid to force Alphabet’s Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange, allowing the company to keep the unit that handles real‑time online ad auctions. The decision, issued on Wednesday, came after the DOJ had argued that AdX was a key component of Google’s monopoly in digital advertising and should be divested to increase competition. Although AdX represents only a small fraction of Google’s overall revenue, the ruling is viewed as a significant symbolic win for the tech giant.

The judge’s ruling follows a previous victory in which the court denied a DOJ request to break up Google’s core advertising business. Together, the two decisions underscore the difficulty of the Department of Justice’s broader antitrust strategy aimed at dismantling parts of Google’s dominant market position. The outcome means that Google can continue to operate AdX under its current ownership, while the DOJ will need to reassess its approach to addressing alleged monopolistic practices in the digital advertising sector.