Washington, D.C. (9/3/2026) – The Don’t Break What Works campaign released the following statement after Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to order the divestiture of Google’s ad business, and accepted most of the parties’ behavioral remedies as modified by the Court, in a filing that remains largely under seal.
“The Court rejected a disproportionate breakup that would have upended the online advertising ecosystem,” said Georgeanna Thomas, a spokesperson for the Don’t Break What Works Campaign. “Dismantling the ad tech stack would have raised costs for publishers, advertisers, and the small businesses that depend on affordable digital advertising. The government’s own witnesses testified those remedies would cause extreme pain for exactly those businesses. Google would still face significant new behavioral obligations and what compliance will look like will not be clear for weeks as the parties now have 30 days to file a jointly proposed Final Judgement reflecting the decisions and modifications imposed by the Court. However, this decision avoids a breakup that could have been very costly for businesses and consumers alike.”
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