Google Ad Business Breakup Unlikely

What happened

A US judge expressed reservations regarding the forced divestiture of Google's ad business, specifically its Google Ad Manager, which includes ad server and ad exchange units. This follows a ruling identifying Google's illegal monopoly in ad technology. The US government advocates for this breakup, citing Google's market control over banner ads. Google contends that such a divestiture would introduce data security risks for publishers and advertisers. The judge has recommended mediation to resolve the dispute over Google's online advertising revenue.

Why it matters

The judge's reservations regarding the forced divestiture of Google's ad technology business, including Google Ad Manager, maintain the current integrated operational model. This sustains the existing dependency on Google's unified ad platform for publishers and advertisers, potentially increasing the oversight burden for procurement and compliance teams in managing vendor lock-in and ensuring fair market practices. It also maintains the current data security posture, which Google argues is more robust under its integrated control, placing the burden of validating this claim on IT security and risk management.