Federal Judge Orders Google To Overhaul Search Practices, Stops Short Of Breakup
Ruling aims to loosen Google’s illegal monopoly on online searches, but allows key business practices to continue.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Google to overhaul its search engine practices in a landmark ruling that found the tech giant had created an illegal monopoly, but ultimately refused to break up the company.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta outlines significant steps to loosen Google’s grip on the online search market while allowing it to retain core business assets.
The ruling, which sent Google’s parent company Alphabet’s shares soaring over 6% in after-hours trading, imposes new restrictions on how the company steers traffic to its own products.
However, Judge Mehta stopped short of banning the multi-billion-dollar default search agreements—such as the one with Apple worth approximately $20 billion annually—that prosecutors argued were central to cementing Google’s power. Apple shares also rose more than 3% following the news.
Judge Mehta’s order specifically bars Google from signing exclusive search contracts and mandates that the company share limited user-interaction data with select competitors. He rejected the government’s more drastic proposals, including a call to break off Google’s Chrome browser or the Android operating system, stating that prosecutors overreached by targeting assets not directly used to impose illegal restraints.
The decision arrives as Google faces mounting regulatory scrutiny on multiple fronts. In a separate development, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has raised concerns about Gmail’s alleged political bias. In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on August 28, Ferguson warned that Gmail’s spam filters may be disproportionately blocking Republican political emails, a practice he suggested could violate federal regulations and prompt an investigation.
As of press time, none of the key parties had responded to requests for comment. Alphabet may now appeal the decision.
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