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04-09-2025
NEW YORK: A US judge has ruled that Google doesn’t need to sell off its Android operating system or its Chrome browser in a landmark monopoly case.
However, the tech giant has been ordered to share data with rivals to help open up competition in online search.
The judgment follows a finding last year that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search.
Google was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2020 over its control of about 90% of the online search market.
The search engine’s bosses will be breathing sighs of relief, writes our reporter in New York, Natalie Sherman.
Relief for Google and its investors
Google and its investors have prepared for worse but today’s ruling has turned out to be a relief for them.
The judge has ruled that the tech giant does not have to sell Chrome and Android, so the company has avoided what could have led to a break-up.
Shares in the company have instantly risen by more than 6%, a sign that investors welcome the result but it’s not all good news for Google. Part of the judge’s decision means the tech giant must share its search data with competitors.
We’re yet to hear directly from the company after the ruling was announced but earlier, Google said it will file an appeal, so the ruling about sharing search data may not take effect straight away.
As we’ve brought you the main lines and reactions to today’s ruling, we’re bringing the live page to a close. You can read our news story here. Thank you for joining us.
Google still facing ad monopoly case
This isn’t the only case Google is facing.
Earlier this year, a US judge ruled the tech giant has got a monopoly in online advertising technology.
The US Department of Justice, along with 17 US states, took legal action against Google, saying the company was illegally dominating the technology that decides which adverts should be placed online and where.
Google said it will appeal against the decision.
We’ve got more details from the judge’s 230-page ruling.
Google won’t be allowed to enter into any exclusive distribution contracts for Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant or the Gemini app.
This means phone makers will be free to preload or promote other search engines, browsers or AI assistants alongside Google’s.
The general consensus on Wall Street is that Tuesday’s ruling from Judge Amit Mehta is good news for Big Tech.
“The regulator’s bark is bigger than the bite,” Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster posts to X after the ruling is handed down.
Google shares are trading 8% higher on the decision that the company can keep Chrome, he notes, while Apple shares also benefits from the expectation that it can maintain a deal that makes Google’s search engine the default on its Safari browser.
It was revealed at trial that Google paid more than $26 billion (£20.5 billion) for such deals with Apple, Mozilla, and others in 2021.
Judge Mehta’s ruling “doesn’t seem to be as draconian as the market was expecting,” says Melissa Otto, Head of TMT Research at S&P Global Visible Alpha.
With Google Search expected to generate closer to $200 billion this fiscal year, and tens of billions of that expected to go to distribution partners, it’s a win-win for the major corporate players involved in the case, Otto says. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
