Google would not should promote Chrome, decide in monopoly case guidelines

Google is not going to should divest its Chrome browser however should change a few of its enterprise practices, a federal decide has dominated. The ruling comes greater than a 12 months after the identical decide 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 needs to be pressured to promote Chrome. However in a 230-page decision, Decide Amit Mehta mentioned the federal government had “overreached” in its request. “Google is not going to be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court docket embrace a contingent divestiture of the Android working system within the last judgment,” Mehta wrote. “Plaintiffs overreached in searching for pressured divesture of those key property, 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 system makers to pre-load its apps with the intention 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 of proceed to pay companions — like Apple — for pre-loading search and different apps into their merchandise. Mehta mentioned 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 information with rivals going ahead. “Making information obtainable to rivals would chop the size hole created by Google’s unique distribution agreements and, in flip, the standard hole that adopted,” he wrote. The corporate just isn’t required at hand over information 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 mentioned it had “issues” about some elements of the ruling.

“At the moment’s choice acknowledges how a lot the business has modified by way of the appearance of AI, which is giving individuals so many extra methods to search out data,” the corporate mentioned. “Now the Courtroom has imposed limits on how we distribute Google providers, and would require us to share Search information with rivals. Now we have issues about how these necessities will impression our customers and their privateness, and we’re reviewing the choice intently.”

The corporate beforehand indicated it plans to appeal Mehta’s authentic choice, however mentioned in June it will watch for a last choice within the case.

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