A U.S. federal court in Washington D.C. ruled on the 2nd (local time) that Google does not have to sell its Chrome browser, despite being judged as a monopoly in the search market. The court stipulated that Google is prohibited from engaging in exclusive contracts and monopolizing search data. Judge Amit Mehta stated that forcing a divestiture of such core assets, which Google has not used to impose illegal restrictions, would be an excessive measure. The court also allowed Google to pay companies, including Apple, to have its services installed as the default browser.
Judge Mehta, however, ruled that Google must share its data with competitors to encourage competition in the online search market. Additionally, Google’s agreements with smartphone and other device manufacturers that prevent the pre-installation of competitor products on new devices are prohibited. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously proposed that Google sell Chrome, prohibit large payments to Apple, and share its data with competitors to restore competition in the online search market. The court rejected the proposal to sell Chrome and prohibit payments to Apple but agreed to the data-sharing requirement.
Google countered the Justice Department’s arguments as overly extreme, asserting that dividing Chrome would threaten U.S. consumers, the economy, and its position as a global leader in technology. They also opposed data sharing with competitors, equating it to selling their intellectual property (IP) and allowing competitors to entirely replicate their technology. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously sued Google in October 2020 for allegedly violating antitrust laws by paying billions annually to smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to establish dominance in the search engine market. The court determined in August of the previous year that Google was indeed a monopoly in the search market.
Following this ruling, Google avoided the worst-case scenario of having to divest Chrome. However, Google plans to appeal the decision, and the Department of Justice is also expected to appeal, suggesting it could take years before a final verdict is reached. In response to the ruling, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw a surge in its stock by 7.55% in after-hours trading, while Apple’s stock rose by 3.46%.