Google doesn’t have to sell Chrome, judge in monopoly case rules

Google is not going to need to divest its Chrome browser however should change a few of its enterprise practices, a federal decide has dominated. The ruling comes greater than a yr after the identical decide dominated that Google had acted illegally to take care of a monopoly in web search.Following the ruling final yr, the Division of Justice had proposed that Google must be pressured to promote Chrome. However in a 230-page resolution, Decide Amit Mehta mentioned the federal government had “overreached” in its request. “Google is not going to be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court docket embody a contingent divestiture of the Android working system within the ultimate judgment,” Mehta wrote. “Plaintiffs overreached in looking for pressured divesture of those key property, which Google didn’t use to impact any unlawful restraints.”Google will, nevertheless, not be permitted to strike unique offers across the distribution of search, Google Assistant, Gemini or Chrome, Mehta dominated. For instance, Google cannot require system makers to pre-load its apps as a way to get entry to the Play Retailer. It can also’t situation revenue-sharing preparations on the location of its apps. However Google will be capable to proceed to pay companions — like Apple — for pre-loading search and different apps into their merchandise. Mehta mentioned that ending these preparations might trigger “downstream harms to distribution companions, associated markets, and shoppers.”Mehta additionally dominated that Google might want to share a few of its search knowledge with rivals going ahead. “Making knowledge obtainable to rivals would cut the dimensions hole created by Google’s unique distribution agreements and, in flip, the standard hole that adopted,” he wrote. The corporate is just not required handy over knowledge associated to its adverts.Mehta’s ruling is essentially a win for the search large, which had argued that divesting Chrome or Android “would hurt People and America’s world expertise management.” In an announcement Tuesday, Google mentioned it had “issues” about some elements of the ruling.”Right now’s resolution acknowledges how a lot the business has modified by means of the arrival of AI, which is giving folks so many extra methods to search out info,” the corporate mentioned. “Now the Courtroom has imposed limits on how we distribute Google providers, and would require us to share Search knowledge with rivals. We’ve got issues about how these necessities will affect our customers and their privateness, and we’re reviewing the choice carefully.”The corporate beforehand indicated it plans to enchantment Mehta’s authentic resolution, however mentioned in June it could anticipate a ultimate resolution within the case.Replace, September 2, 2025, 4:28PM PT: This put up has been up to date so as to add an announcement from Google on the ruling.