May 6, 2025 – 3:19 AM PDT
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is recommending that Google divest its AdX digital ad marketplace along with its DFP platform, which helps manage and deliver online ads. This follows a ruling by a federal judge who determined that Google had illegally maintained a dominant position in two significant online advertising markets.
According to the DOJ’s court filing, these proposed actions—including sell-offs—are deemed necessary to dismantle Google’s monopolistic grip and to foster healthy competition in the ad-exchange and publisher ad-server sectors.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in these markets, marking another setback for the tech company. This comes after a previous ruling indicated that Google had also established an illegal monopoly in the online search arena.
After discussions with Google and the DOJ about ways to address the company’s dominance in advertising tools for online publishers, Brinkema has set a trial date for September.
While Google expressed willingness to adopt certain behavioral remedies—like allowing real-time bidding for rivals—the company maintains that legal arguments prohibiting forced sales of its business segments are fundamentally flawed.
Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of Regulatory Affairs, criticized the DOJ’s suggestions to divest their ad tech tools, arguing that they extend well beyond the court’s findings, lack legal support, and could be detrimental to both publishers and advertisers.
In premarket trading on Tuesday, Alphabet’s shares saw a nearly 1.1% decline.
AdX, or Ad Exchange, acts as a real-time marketplace where publishers can sell their unsold ad space to advertisers. The publisher ad servers are essential for managing digital ad inventory on websites, enabling news outlets and other online content providers to monetize their offerings through ad sales.
Last year, in an attempt to settle an EU antitrust investigation, Google proposed selling AdX, but European publishers found the offer inadequate.
