WASHINGTON—Following U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s order rejecting the Justice Department’s request to force Google to divest its AdX ad exchange, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from Jack Nicastro, antitrust policy analyst:
The court’s rejection of a Google breakup is a win for sound antitrust policy. As with the DOJ’s effort to force Google to divest Chrome, the requested breakup was not warranted. Judge Brinkema found that Google’s acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld were lawful, underscoring why breaking up the company would be an inappropriate remedy.
The court can address the specific conduct it found problematic through targeted behavioral remedies. Any data-sharing or access requirements should likewise be narrowly tailored to address actual anticompetitive advantages—not to penalize Google for the scale and efficiencies that have made its ad tech ecosystem successful.
Of course, these remedies ultimately depend on whether the DOJ prevails on appeal in the underlying liability case. That outcome is far from certain, given the court’s questionable market definition and its failure to give sufficient weight to Google’s procompetitive justifications.
Today’s ruling offers another reminder that antitrust enforcement should focus on demonstrable consumer harm, not an ideological preference for breaking up successful tech firms.
Contact: Sydney Mack, [email protected]
