Google search antitrust saga continues with new US appeal
What's the story
The US government and a majority of states have appealed a landmark antitrust ruling against Alphabet's Google. The appeal, filed on Tuesday, challenges the decision made by District Judge Amit Mehta in 2024. While Judge Mehta ruled that Google is a monopolist in the online search space, he declined to impose stricter remedies such as forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser or end its lucrative deal with Apple.
Appeal process
Google has already appealed Judge Mehta's ruling
Google has already filed an appeal against Judge Mehta's ruling, which found that the tech giant had illegally stifled competition in online search and related advertising. The company has also requested a stay on the order requiring it to share data with competitors during this lengthy appeal process. Meanwhile, Judge Mehta's ruling was seen as a major victory for Google and a setback for US antitrust enforcers who have been hesitant to intervene in rapidly evolving tech markets.
Market control
Google's dominance and controversial payola deals
Google controls a whopping 90% of the search engine market. However, its results pages are often criticized for being cluttered with spam and AI outputs. The company also has some controversial payola deals, like $20 billion with Apple and $8 billion over four years with Samsung, which require hardware makers to make Google their default search engine.
Appeal implications
Initial remedies proposed in the case
The initial remedies proposed in the case included forcing Google to end its pay-to-play practices or sell off Chrome. However, the ruling only required Google to share some of its search data with competitors and limited the exclusivity of its paid deals with companies like Apple and Samsung. The US Court of Appeals for D.C. usually takes about a year to decide after a case reaches this stage, meaning harsher remedies could still be on the table.