Google avoided a forced breakup after a federal judge in Virginia found that it unlawfully monopolized two key online advertising markets. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema ruled on April 17, 2025, that Google violated the Sherman Act by tying its publisher ad server, Google Ad Manager, to its ad exchange, AdX, in ways that disadvantaged competitors. The Department of Justice and a coalition of states had sought structural relief, including the forced sale of AdX, but the judge indicated that behavioral remedies were more likely. Those measures could involve interoperability requirements, allowing competitors to connect to Google’s infrastructure on fairer terms, and restrictions on self-preferencing, in which a company favors its own services while controlling essential infrastructure. The remedies phase remains separate from the liability ruling. Closing arguments were heard in November 2025, and the final order will establish what Google must change and when. The case adds to antitrust scrutiny of dominant technology companies in the United States and Europe, while Google also faces a separate remedies fight in its search monopoly case.