Google could be forced to break-up its $3 trillion-plus adtech business, if the judge rules that is the best solution to tackle the tech giant’s monopoly and restore competition.

Following closing statements on Friday, US District Court Judge Leonie Brikema in Virginia, asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) how quickly a sale would take, saying “time is of the essence”, Reuters reported.

Brinkema – who ruled in April that Google has an illegal monopoly in two adtech marketers and illegally tied two of its tools together – raised the issue that the tech giant is likely to appeal any decisions.

She said: “The kind of request you are making most likely would not be as easily enforceable while an appeal is pending,” meaning that a sale could take years to enforce.

This puts Google in an “impossible situation”, Brinkema added, especially as publishers and rival adtech firms are waiting on the ruling to seek damages.

The DOJ and a coalition of US states have been arguing that Google should be forced to sell its ad ad exchange business – AdX – whereby publishers pay the tech firm a 20% to sell ads in auctions.

Matthew Huppert, attorney for the DOJ, said in court that a forced sale could bring a “brighter, more competitive future for the open web”.

However, Karen Dunn, who was representing Google, argued that such a move would be too extreme and cited a 2004 Supreme Court ruling, saying “law fully acquired monopoly power is the foundation of the American economy”.

Friday’s hearing marked the end of the evidentiary periods in the Google versus the DOJ case over its dominance in online advertising and search. Brinkema is due to give her verdict next year.

The Alphabet-owned company was also found to have held a monopoly in search, but District Judge Amit Mehta decided against forcing Google to sell parts of its business – namely Chrome – saying it was a “poor fit for the case”.

Instead, Judge Mehta ordered the tech giant to share its data with competitors.

The case is just one of a number the DOJ has brought against big tech. It currently has cases pending against Amazon and Apple.

Last week the judge ruled in favour of Meta over the DOJ, stating the company does not hold a social media monopoly. As a result, Meta will not have to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.