From www.pcworld.com
Image: Google/Edit by Michael Crider
Google’s online advertising business has been ruled a monopoly, as determined by a United States federal judge at the tail end of a long antitrust case. And just like the Department of Justice wants Google to get rid of the Chrome browser, it officially wants Google to break off its advertising business as punishment, specifically its DoubleClick for Publishers and AdX products.
The DOJ recommending that Google be forced to sell or otherwise divest itself of its advertising divisions doesn’t automatically mean that’ll happen. The judge in the case would need to approve the Department’s recommendation (which also bars Google from running an ad exchange for 10 years) over Google’s or their own solution. Then there’s the possibility of appeals that will certainly be exhausted by Google’s lawyers, to say nothing of the X factor that is the Trump administration, which has shown a tendency to try to exert its own will on federal procedures in unpredictable ways.
But the worst case scenario at the end of both of these cases—for Google anyway—is that the company could be forced to sell or otherwise get rid of both the Chrome browser (and its associated products, Chromium and ChromeOS for Chromebook laptops, etc.) and its advertising business. That wouldn’t completely destroy Google, but it would effectively mean the end of its two-decade dominance as a tech giant.
It seems likely that the cases, appeals, etc. will drag on for months at least, possibly into 2026 before everything shakes out. We’ll be keeping a close eye on them, naturally.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
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