A US court has determined that Google is not required to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system, yet it must share data with its competitors, as reported by BBC.
The ruling by Judge Amit Mehta came after a lengthy legal battle regarding Google's dominance in the search engine market. The case concerned the company's status as the default search engine both on its own products, such as Android and Chrome, and on devices made by others, including Apple.
The US Department of Justice sought to force Google to sell Chrome. However, the court decided that the company could keep the browser but would have to avoid exclusive contracts and share search data with competitors.
Google proposed less drastic measures, such as limiting revenue-sharing agreements with companies that make Google the default search engine.
Google has hailed the court's decision as a win, highlighting the influence of artificial intelligence on the case. “Today’s ruling acknowledges how much the industry has transformed due to AI, empowering people with far more ways to find information. It reaffirms what we have said since the beginning of this process in 2020: competition is fierce, and people can easily choose the services they prefer,” the statement from Google read.
Judge Mehta had previously acknowledged that Google used unfair practices to achieve monopoly status but noted that a complete sale of Chrome was “an inappropriate remedy.”
Deputy Attorney General Abigail Slater stated on X, “Today’s ruling aligned with the need to restore competition in a market that has long been monopolized, and now we are weighing options to assess whether the court's decision is sufficiently effective.”
Shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, surged more than 8% following the announcement of the decision.
Smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Motorola will also benefit. Previously, Google paid billions to these companies to pre-install or promote its products, but such exclusive agreements will now be prohibited. In 2021, Google spent over $26 billion on this.
Companies will now be able to pre-install other search engines, browsers, or AI assistants alongside Google’s products. Meanwhile, Google will still be able to pay partners to set its services as the default.
Analysts view this ruling positively for large corporations.
“Apple will also benefit, as Google will now have to renegotiate its search engine agreement annually,” said Gene Munster from Deepwater Asset Management.
However, competitor DuckDuckGo criticized the ruling, stating, “This does not force Google to change its unlawful behavior, and as a result, consumers will continue to suffer,” said the founder and CEO of the company, Gabriel Weinberg.
Google's legal troubles are not over: another trial regarding the company's illegal monopoly in the online advertising market is set to begin this month.
In August 2025, it became known that Google would pay $30 million to settle a case in which plaintiffs accused the company of violating the privacy of underage YouTube users by collecting their personal data without parental consent and using that information for targeted advertising.
