Google would not must promote Chrome, choose in monopoly case guidelines

Google is not going to must divest its Chrome browser however must change a few of its enterprise practices, a federal choose has dominated. The ruling comes greater than a 12 months after the identical choose dominated that Google had acted illegally to keep up a monopoly in web search.

Following the ruling final 12 months, the Division of Justice had proposed that Google must be compelled to promote Chrome. However in a 230-page decision, Decide Amit Mehta stated 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 closing judgment,” Mehta wrote. “Plaintiffs overreached in searching for compelled divesture of those key belongings, which Google didn’t use to impact any unlawful restraints.”

Google will, nonetheless, now not be permitted to strike unique offers across the distribution of search, Google Assistant, Gemini or Chrome, Mehta dominated. For instance, Google cannot require gadget makers to pre-load its apps in an effort 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 stated that ending these preparations might trigger “downstream harms to distribution companions, associated markets, and customers.”

Mehta additionally dominated that Google might want to share a few of its search knowledge with rivals going ahead. “Making knowledge out there to rivals would cut the size hole created by Google’s unique distribution agreements and, in flip, the standard hole that adopted,” he wrote. The corporate is just not required at hand over knowledge associated to its advertisements.

Mehta’s ruling is basically a win for the search big, which had argued that divesting Chrome or Android “would hurt People and America’s international expertise management.” In a statement Tuesday, Google stated it had “considerations” about some points of the ruling.

“As we speak’s resolution acknowledges how a lot the trade has modified by the appearance of AI, which is giving folks so many extra methods to search out info,” the corporate stated. “Now the Court docket has imposed limits on how we distribute Google providers, and would require us to share Search knowledge with rivals. Now we have considerations 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 appeal Mehta’s unique resolution, however stated in June it might look ahead to a closing resolution within the case.

Replace, September 2, 2025, 4:28PM PT: This submit has been up to date so as to add an announcement from Google on the ruling.