A US judge ruled Google must share its search data with rivals — but spared the tech giant from harsher remedies like selling Chrome or Android. Shares of $GOOGL climbed on relief.
Alphabet’s ($GOOGL) Google saw a mixed but market-moving antitrust decision on Tuesday. A Washington judge ruled the company illegally maintained a monopoly in search and must share critical search data with competitors to restore fair competition. At the same time, the court rejected calls for structural breakups — including divesting Chrome, Android, or halting payments to Apple ($AAPL) for default placement.
That balance pushed Google stock higher as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the most aggressive remedies were avoided.
What the Judge Decided
- Data-sharing: Google must open up its search data to competitors.
- Exclusive deals banned: Google can’t sign exclusivity contracts to lock in its search dominance.
- No breakup: Judge Amit Mehta rejected prosecutors’ request to force Google to sell Chrome or Android.
- Apple deal safe: Google is not barred from paying Apple and others to preload its products.
Google argued during the trial that data-sharing could allow rivals to reverse-engineer its technology. CEO Sundar Pichai said the remedies sought by the DOJ went “far beyond what’s legally justified.”
Bigger Picture
- This case is part of a five-year DOJ battle against Google, which Mehta ruled last year held an illegal search monopoly.
- Google faces more legal heat:
- App Store: fighting Epic Games over payment rules.
- Ad Tech: another trial begins in September on its dominance in online advertising.
- The ruling also fits into Washington’s broader crackdown on Big Tech, with Meta ($META), Amazon ($AMZN), and Apple ($AAPL) all under antitrust scrutiny.
Google must loosen its grip on search, but dodged the “nuclear” breakup scenario. For Wall Street, that’s good enough to send $GOOGL stock higher.
