"On Friday, a federal judge ordered Google to limit all default search and AI app contracts to one year, a setback for the long-term deals that have helped cement the company's dominance on billions of devices. The ruling, detailed in a December 2025 judgment, requires Alphabet's Google to renegotiate every default-placement agreement annually, including lucrative deals with Apple's iPhone and manufacturers like Samsung."
"Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court of the District of Columbia said the "hard-and-fast termination requirement after one year" is necessary to enforce antitrust relief after his landmark 2024 finding that Google illegally monopolized online search and search advertising. The decision aims to open the door for rivals, especially fast-moving generative AI companies, to compete for default spots that have historically been held for years at a time."
"While Google can still pay device makers for default placement, the annual renegotiation rule sharply restricts its ability to secure long-term control over the search market. The ruling lands as Google faces mounting pressure in the AI race from OpenAI and a wave of newer challengers. OpenAI recently launched its own browser, Atlas, that is powered by a ChatGPT-based interface."
Judge Amit Mehta ordered Google to limit all default search and AI app contracts to one year and to renegotiate every default-placement agreement annually, including deals with Apple and Samsung. The order follows a 2024 finding that Google illegally monopolized online search and search advertising and builds on a September mandate requiring Google to share some data behind its search rankings. The annual termination requirement enables rivals, especially generative AI companies, to compete for default slots previously held for years. Google can still pay for placement, but long-term market control is sharply constrained amid rising AI competition.
Read at Aol
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]