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

Google won’t 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 take care of a monopoly in web search.

Following the ruling final 12 months, the Division of Justice had proposed that Google ought to be compelled to promote Chrome. However in a 230-page decision, Decide Amit Mehta stated the federal government had “overreached” in its request. “Google won’t 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 compelled divesture of those key property, which Google didn’t use to impact any unlawful restraints.”

Google will, nonetheless, 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 position of its apps. However Google will be capable of 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 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 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 handy over knowledge associated to its advertisements.

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

“Immediately’s resolution acknowledges how a lot the business has modified by the appearance of AI, which is giving folks so many extra methods to search out info,” the corporate stated. “Now the Courtroom has imposed limits on how we distribute Google providers, and would require us to share Search knowledge with rivals. We now have issues about how these necessities will influence our customers and their privateness, and we’re reviewing the choice intently.”

The corporate beforehand indicated it plans to appeal Mehta’s authentic resolution, however stated in June it could await 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.