U.S. Pushes to Break Up Google’s Ad Tech Dominance

The U.S. Justice Department strengthened its antitrust case against Google by demanding the sale of its AdX and DFP ad platforms after a Virginia court determined Google’s ad network violated competition laws. The new initiative supports the separation of Chrome from Google’s search engine monopoly. Google asserts that platform divestiture is technologically impossible while it prepares an appeal against the decision. The remedy hearings will start in September 2025 with a final decision expected before early 2026. The breakup would become comparable to AT&T’s division in the 1980s. Google faces threats to its core businesses including its Play Store because AI reshapes online behavior at a critical time for its market dominance.