The fine print of Google's ad tech antitrust case became public on September 16, and it turns out the company got most of what it wanted. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema's 106-page remedies opinion, filed under seal two weeks earlier and unsealed after both sides had a chance to redact sensitive material, confirmed that Google will not be forced to sell its AdX ad exchange or its DFP publisher ad server, despite an earlier trial finding that the company had illegally monopolized parts of the online advertising market.
Instead, Brinkema opted for behavioral fixes. Google must build application programming interfaces connecting both AdX and DFP to Prebid, the open-source header-bidding software publishers have used for years to route ad demand around Google's pipes, and the court specified that those integrations must be "functionally equivalent" to Google's own tools rather than a technically compliant but deliberately hobbled version. Google also has to submit AdX bids to rival publisher ad servers on the same terms DFP receives them, share win-and-loss bid data with publishers, and stop AdWords from favoring DFP internally. An outside monitor will oversee compliance for six years — well short of the 15-year term the Department of Justice had sought.
A split verdict, familiar reactions
Google was pleased. "We're very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow," said Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company's vice president for regulatory affairs, in comments to TechCrunch after the initial ruling. Antitrust advocates were not. Barry Lynn, director of the Open Markets Institute, called the outcome an "embarrassing capitulation" that, in his words, "essentially lets them determine their own punishment in exchange for a promise not to repeat the behavior." Prebid's own response was more measured, with the organization saying it looks forward to "supporting the industry as the court's remedies are implemented."
The ruling is the second major U.S. antitrust finding against Google this year, following an earlier decision in its search-monopoly case that likewise avoided a structural breakup. Both outcomes fit a broader pattern in American antitrust enforcement against dominant tech platforms: courts finding illegal conduct, then declining to dismantle the businesses that produced it.
The practical rollout will take time. Google has roughly 12 months to open AdX to rival ad servers and 12 to 15 months to complete the Prebid integrations, with the full judgment expected to run for six years once Brinkema signs a final order. The two sides have until October 2 to submit a joint proposed judgment, and Google is widely expected to appeal once that document is filed — meaning publishers hoping the ruling will meaningfully cut into Google's cut of ad sales may be waiting well into 2027 to find out.