A U.S. judge has ruled that Google will not be required to sell its Chrome browser, delivering a significant victory for the tech giant in its antitrust battle with U.S. authorities. Judge Amit Mehta’s decision allows Google to retain its Android operating system, which, alongside Chrome, is central to its dominant online advertising business.
William Kovacic, director of the competition law centre at George Washington University, noted Judge Mehta’s awareness that the Supreme Court is the likely final destination for the case, stating, “Judge Mehta is aware that the Supreme Court is the likely final destination for the case, and he has chosen remedies that stand a good chance of acceptance by the Court.”
While the ruling mandates data sharing with competitors, which could strengthen Google’s advertising rivals, the decision to allow Google to retain Chrome and Android alleviates major concerns for investors who view these as essential to Google’s overall business. Google is scheduled for trial later this month to determine remedies in a separate Justice Department case, where the company was found to hold illegal monopolies in online advertising technology, according to Reuters.
Judge Mehta emphasized the rapid influx of capital into the AI sector, stating, “The money flowing into this space, and how quickly it has arrived, is astonishing,” and adding that AI companies are now better positioned to compete with Google than traditional search engine developers have been in decades. The ruling also provides relief for Apple and other device and web browser manufacturers, allowing them to continue receiving advertising revenue-sharing payments from Google for searches conducted on their devices.
Google expressed concerns about the data-sharing requirements in a blog post, stating it was worried that data sharing “will impact our users and their privacy, and we’re reviewing the decision closely.”
The ruling also facilitates the loading of apps created by Google’s rivals by device makers and others who set Google Search as the default, preventing Google from entering into exclusive contracts. Mehta suggested that banning such payments is less critical due to the rise of AI, with products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT posing “a threat to the primacy of traditional internet search.”
District Judge Amit Mehta also ruled Google could keep its Android operating system, which together with Chrome helps drive Google’s market‑dominating online‑advertising business. If AI companies are granted access to the data Google is required to share, they could enhance the development of chatbots, AI search engines, and web browsers.
The emergence of increasingly popular AI tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, presents a significant challenge to Google’s dominance. The ruling also enables Google to continue its lucrative payments to Apple. However, Google plans to appeal a separate ruling requiring it to revamp its app store, stemming from a lawsuit won by Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite.”
Deepak Mathivanan, an analyst for Cantor Fitzgerald, noted that “Google has said previously that it plans to file an appeal, which means it could take years before the company is required to act on the ruling,” and added that the data-sharing requirements pose a competitive risk to Google, but not immediately.
