In a Big Win, Google Avoids a Breakup of Its Ad Tech Business

A federal judge ruled that Google must make changes to address its advertising technology monopoly but would not need to break up that business, as the company staved off the most extreme measures to curb its power. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, issued her sealed decision after finding in 2025 that Google broke the law to protect its dominance over the largely invisible system of technology that places ads on pages across the web. The ruling was previewed in a short order posted by the court. The Justice Department had requested that Google sell off parts of its business, which it said was necessary to check the company’s power. But the judge declined to grant the request. She instead ordered Google to change its business practices to benefit competitors, though she did not provide specifics.