Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo/File Photo 02 Sep 2026 10:30PM Sept 2 : Alphabet's Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia rejected U.S. antitrust enforcers' bid to force a sale of Google's online advertising exchange.While the ad exchange is a small part of Google's business, the ruling is a powerful symbolic victory that puts the tech titan at 2-0 against the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies.U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to make Google sell AdX, where publishers pay Google a 20 per cent fee to sell ads in auctions that h