Google Avoids Ad Tech Business Breakup, Proposes Policy Change to the EU

In Focus

• Google has proposed policy changes to address AdX monopoly concerns in the EU
• The changes will make its ad technology accessible to advertisers
• The tech giant avoided divestment of AdX platform in its offer

Google has avoided divestment of its ad tech business and instead proposed policy changes to the European Commission. According to Yahoo Finance, Google’s ad tech policy change defies the antitrust regulator’s call to divest the business as a remedy to the alleged conflict of interest. The tech giant says these changes will make its online advertising technology more accessible to publishers and advertisers.

Google Faces AdX Probes in the U.S. and the EU

Google faces antitrust probes over its ad exchange platform, AdX, in both the EU and the U.S. Regulators have been investigating the tech giant’s control over key advertising tools and have raised concerns about the impact of Google’s online advertising dominance on advertisers and publishers.

On April 17, 2025, a U.S. court declared part of Google’s digital advertising technology an illegal monopoly. On September 4, 2025, the European Commission fined the search engine giant $3.4 billion for prioritizing its own display advertising tools in ways that strengthened Google’s ad exchange dominance in the EU.

The Commission said Google’s actions harmed advertisers and publishers and required the tech giant to inform it of measures to address the conflicts of interest in ad tech within 60 days from the date of the decision.

What Changes Did Google Offer the EU for Its Ad Tech Business?

But Google avoided divestment of its AdX in the EU offer. On November 14, 2025, the tech company said its proposal to EU regulators was largely similar to the one it submitted to the Department of Justice in the U.S.

“Our proposal fully addresses the EC’​s decision without a disruptive breakup that would harm the thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their business,” Google said in a blogpost.

The tech giant added that it plans to implement immediate changes to its ad tech business. Google also offered to boost the interoperability of its tools, allowing advertisers and publishers more flexibility and choice.

“Our plan includes immediate product changes to end the specific practices the Commission challenges. For example, we are giving publishers the option to set different minimum prices for different bidders when using Google Ad Manager,” Google added.

Regulators Could Compel AdX Breakup

EU regulators might issue a divestiture order in Google’s EU antitrust case if the tech giant continues to implement anti-competitive practices.

Google is currently undergoing an AdX trial in the U.S., where regulators are pushing for divestiture of its ad tech business as a remedy to the monopoly issue. The outcome of this trial could resolve the Google ad tech antitrust in the EU if the U.S. court rules in favor of regulators.