Google can't have exclusive search deals - but won't have to divest Chrome or Android, judge rules in antitrust case

"US District Judge Amit Mehta, in a 230-page ruling on Tuesday, barred Google from having exclusive contracts for its Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and Gemini app products as part of his remedy to the more than $2 trillion company's monopoly in search. But the ruling fell short of some of the most contentious demands from the US government. Mehta said Google would not have to divest from Chrome or Android. "Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints," Mehta wrote in the Tuesday ruling."

"In a landmark ruling last year following a 10-week non-jury trial in 2023, Mehta found that Google violated US antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly with its online search business. "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Mehta wrote in the ruling at the time. The legal showdown pitting the tech behemoth against the Department of Justice and a coalition of states sparked the biggest monopoly ruling since Microsoft faced a potential breakup nearly 30 years ago. As part of its proposed remediesfor Google, the Justice Department had asked the Washington, DCjudge to force Google to sell off its Chrome web browser, end its exclusive multibillion-dollar deals with Apple, Mozilla, Samsung, and others to make Google the default search engine on web"

US District Judge Amit Mehta issued a 230-page ruling barring Google from exclusive contracts for Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and Gemini as a remedy for its online search monopoly. The judge declined to require divestiture of Chrome or Android, stating plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of assets not used to effect illegal restraints. Mehta previously found that Google violated US antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly after a 10-week trial. The Department of Justice had sought stronger remedies, including forcing a Chrome sale and ending default-search deals with Apple, Mozilla, and Samsung. Alphabet shares rose after the ruling. Google has vowed to appeal.

Read at Business Insider