A federal judge has ruled that Google does not have to dismantle its advertising technology business, rejecting the most punitive remedy sought by the Justice Department in the antitrust case against the company.
In an order issued on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia declined to compel Google to sell AdX, its online advertising marketplace.
AdX allows publishers to auction ad space in real time when users visit their websites. Google typically charges a 20 percent fee on those transactions.
Instead, Brinkema approved “most of the parties’ behavioral remedies” that will require Google to change some of its business practices. …