In brief
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Google won't have to sell its Chrome web browser but must share search data with competitors to enhance market competitiveness. This decision comes after a prolonged legal battle regarding Google's search engine dominance across various platforms. While Google views the ruling positively, allowing it to retain Android and Chrome, it raises questions about the effectiveness of the changes in addressing monopolistic practices.
Google will not have to sell its Chrome web browser but must share information with competitors, a U.S. federal judge has ordered.
The remedies decided by District Judge Amit Mehta have emerged after a years-long court battle over Google's dominance in online search.
The case centred around Google's position as the default search engine on a range of its own products such as Android and Chrome, as well as those made by others like Apple.
The U.S. Department of Justice had demanded that Google sell Chrome. Tuesday's decision means the tech giant can keep it, but it will be barred from having exclusive contracts and must share search data with rivals.
Google had proposed less drastic solutions, such as limiting its revenue-sharing agreements with firms like Apple to make its search engine the default on their devices and browsers.
After the ruling, Google expressed that it viewed the decision as a victory, suggesting that the rise of artificial intelligence played a role in the outcome.
Today's decision recognizes how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people many more ways to find information, Google said in a statement.
Google argued it does not engage in wrongdoing, claiming its market dominance is due to a superior product that users simply prefer.
Judge Mehta had previously stated that Google utilized unfair methods to establish a monopoly over the online search market, actively maintaining an unjustified level of dominance that broke U.S. law.
However, he concluded that selling off Chrome was a poor fit for this case. Google will also retain its Android operating system.
With Google's search operation expected to generate close to $200 billion this year, significant implications exist for larger tech companies involved, with shares in Alphabet soaring by over 8% following the ruling.
DuckDuckGo criticized the decision, highlighting that it fails to enact necessary changes to curb Google's monopolistic behavior, ultimately impacting consumers negatively.
The ruling is not the end of Google's legal challenges, with another trial scheduled against the Justice Department regarding its online advertising technology practices.
