The well-known conglomerate Alphabet Inc.'s branch Google has received a ruling from a U.S. District Court judge that it has unlawfully sustained monopolies within the realm of online advertising. Judge Leonie Brinkema, located in Alexandria, Virginia, determined that Google breached antitrust regulations by consciously acquiring and retaining monopoly control in both the ad space market for publishers and the ad exchange market linking buyers and sellers. However, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was unsuccessful in providing solid proof that Google controlled a monopoly in the ad networks for advertisers, stated Brinkema.
To address the antitrust infringements, the court aims to set up a briefing schedule to outline the potential "remedies". The DOJ has suggested these could encompass a divestiture of Google Ad Manager, which accommodates the prominent technological corporation's publisher ad server and ad exchange businesses.
Furthermore, the DOJ has indicated that Google might need to sell its Chrome browser following a federal judge's verdict last year that ascertained a similar illegal monopoly within the web search market. The forthcoming trial, beginning next Monday, will decide if Google is required to sell Chrome or if it needs to provide easier access for companies to use alternate search engines.
In response to the ruling, Google's Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, stated "We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half… We disagree with the Court's decision regarding our publisher tools. Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective."
In a similar vein, the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority accused Google in September of performing "anti-competitive" practices that artificially drive up advertiser bids made via its ad exchange. Alphabet's shares dropped by 1% during recent trading on Thursday and have seen a decline of 20% in 2025.