A federal judge has reportedly ordered Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google to overhaul its online advertising technology practices and appoint an internal antitrust compliance monitor, while declining to force a breakup of its ad tech business.

How Ad Practices Must Change

In a 106-page decision, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found that Google must relax rules governing its online ad auctions, according to Reuters.

The judge rejected the Department of Justice's push to force Google to sell its AdX exchange, ruling instead that opening AdX's real-time bidding data to competing publisher ad servers would restore "much-needed" competition.

Google can no longer require websites using its ad server to also use AdX, and must end practices that publishers said locked them into its tools.

The changes must remain in place for six years, well short of the 15-year term the DOJ and several states had sought, with a compliance monitor overseeing enforcement.

Google Plans to Appeal

Google, however, said it disagrees with the judge's liability ruling on its Ad Manager publishing tool and plans to appeal, maintaining that a full breakup would have made it harder for small businesses to reach customers, Reuters reported.

Google did not immediately respond to MarketDash's request for comment.

"The Court's ruling in the Google ad tech case marks a significant victory," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., adding that DOJ will continue to fight for fair competition.

A Case Years In The Making

The Justice Department first sued Google over its ad tech dominance in 2023, and Brinkema found in April 2025 that the company had illegally monopolized parts of the online advertising technology market.

The ruling comes as Google faces growing advertising competition from Meta Platforms Inc. (META) and OpenAI, with the ChatGPT maker scaling its advertising business as it looks to compete more directly for the same consumer ad spending.

In the second quarter of 2026, the company's advertising business generated $81.629 billion, accounting for roughly 68% of Alphabet's $119.796 billion in total revenue for the quarter.

Price Action: Alphabet's Class A stock closed 0.61% lower on Wednesday at $342.87 and climbed 0.7% in after-hours trading, while its Class C stock closed 0.61% lower at $339.36 and climbed 0.74% in extended trading.

MarketDash edge rankings indicate Alphabet's Class A stock has a Momentum score in the 75th percentile and a Growth score in the 89th percentile.