In a ruling from Washington’s own attempt to break up Google, Judge Leonie Brinkema, of the Federal District of Eastern Virginia, rejected the DoJ’s request for a forced divestiture of parts of its business.
That decision leaves the EU alone, at a time of transatlantic discord, in advocating that the online advertising giant break itself up.
“It’s obvious that the European Commission has been holding out for a decision in the parallel U.S. case, even if it has the authority to act independently and should have done so long ago,” Max von Thun, Europe director at the Open Markets Institute non-profit, told POLITICO.
One year after the Commission issued its fine, both the complainants who brought the case, and the civil society groups who see this as a test of the EU’s nerve in confronting Big Tech, fear the EU executive may find itself with limited options to loosen Google’s stranglehold on the online advertising ecosystem.
“As long as Google maintains the incentive and the means, they have an endless number of paths to achieve comparable anti-competitive goals,” said Arielle Garcia, CEO of Check My Ads, a U.S.-based watchdog, adding that while a Europe-only remedy might be technically possible, its effect would be minimal.
In her order, Brinkema said she didn’t see a structural divestment of part of Google’s business as necessary to remedy the finding of liability against the company.