Google's Antitrust Struggle: Breaking the Ad-Tech Monopoly

A U.S. federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized two markets in online advertising technology. The ruling could lead to Google's advertising products being broken up. The Department of Justice advocates for Google to sell its Ad Manager and possibly Chrome to reduce its dominance.

A federal judge has determined that Google's dominance in certain online advertising markets was illegal, marking a significant development in the ongoing antitrust battle against the technology giant. This decision comes as a result of a case spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Judge Leonie Brinkema, residing in Alexandria, Virginia, identified Google's unlawful monopoly in the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. However, she noted that the tech company did not maintain similar control over advertiser ad networks.

The ruling presents prosecutors with the possibility of pursuing a breakup of Google's advertising divisions. The DOJ has suggested that Google divest its Google Ad Manager, inclusive of its publisher ad server and ad exchange, as part of the remedial measures to curb its market dominance.

(With inputs from agencies.)