Google, already declared an illegal monopoly from its activity to corner the market for search text ads, won't be forced to sell off parts of its business.
The US Justice Department wanted the forced sale of the Chrome browser whose data is used to deliver advertising.
“Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” said district judge Amit Meh.
“Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”
Google said the decision recognises how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people so many more ways to find information.
“This underlines what we’ve been saying since this case was filed in 2020: Competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want,” Google said in a blog post.
“Now the court has imposed limits on how we distribute Google services, and will require us to share Search data with rivals.
“We have concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy, and we’re reviewing the decision closely.
“The court did recognise that divesting Chrome and Android would have gone beyond the case’s focus on search distribution, and would have harmed consumers and our partners.”
However, the Justice Department said its Antitrust Division won significant remedies in its monopolisation case against Google in online search.
The court prohibited Google from entering or maintaining exclusive contracts relating to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant and the Gemini app
Google was also ordered to make certain search index and user-interaction data available to rivals and potential rivals; and ordered Google to offer search and search text ads syndication services to enable rivals and potential rivals to compete.
The department said the ruling recognises the need for remedies that will pry open the market for general search services, which has been frozen in place for over a decade.
The ruling also recognises the need to prevent Google from using the same anticompetitive tactics for its GenAI products as it used to monopolise the search market, and the remedies will reach GenAI technologies and companies, it said.
“This decision marks an important step forward in the Department of Justice’s ongoing fight to protect American consumers,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue our legal efforts to hold companies accountable for monopolistic practices."
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