A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday denied the Department of Justice's request to force divestiture of Alphabet's online advertising business.

Judge Leonie Brinkema, who last year found Google had illegally monopolized the complex online advertising market, rejected the DOJ's argument that selling Google's ad exchange was the only way to curb its dominance and instead issued a two‑page order adopting alternative remedies to limit Google's ability to control publishers' use of its ad tech.

The ruling is historically significant and effectively closes a nearly 20‑year chapter of antitrust risk for Google.