A federal judge has ordered Google to change how it operates its search engine after finding the company maintained an illegal monopoly. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., does not require Google to break up its business or sell off major assets such as its Chrome browser.
The decision comes at a time when artificial intelligence is changing the technology industry, with new tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity emerging as competitors to traditional search engines. Judge Mehta’s 226-page order imposes restrictions on some of Google’s practices that have driven traffic to its search engine and related services.
However, the court declined to prohibit Google from making multi-billion dollar agreements that set its search engine as the default option on smartphones, personal computers, and other devices. These agreements, which involve payments exceeding $26 billion each year, were central to the nearly five-year antitrust case brought by the U.S. Justice Department.
Judge Mehta also rejected calls from the Justice Department for Google to divest its Chrome browser. “The request was a bridge too far,” he concluded.
The outcome means Google will continue operating without being broken up but must comply with new restrictions designed to address anti-competitive conduct in its search business.
