Google appeals landmark antitrust verdict over search monopoly
Google has appealed a U.S. district judge’s landmark antitrust ruling that found the company illegally held a monopoly in online search.
“As we have long said, the Court’s August 2024 decision ignored the reality that people use Google because they want to, not because they have to,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google vice president of regulatory affairs.
In its announcement Friday, Google said Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling failed to take into account the pace of innovation and intense competition the company faces.
The company is asking for a pause in implementing a series of fixes – considered by some observers to be too lenient – aimed at limiting its monopoly power.
Judge Mehta acknowledged the rapid changes in Google’s business when he issued his appeals in September, writing that the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) had changed the course of the case.
He refused to grant government lawyers’ request for a breakup of Google that would include a spinoff of Chrome, the world’s most popular browser.
Instead, he proposed less stringent solutions, including requiring Google to share certain data with “qualified competitors,” as the court ruled.
This data was to include parts of its search index, Google’s massive inventory of web content that functions like a map of the Internet.
The judge also asked Google to allow some competitors to display the tech giant’s search results as their own, to give newcomers the time and resources they need to innovate.
Mulholland on Friday balked at being forced to share search data and syndication services with rivals as she justified the request to halt enforcement of the orders.
“These mandates would endanger Americans’ privacy and discourage competitors from creating their own products – ultimately stifling the innovation that keeps the United States at the forefront of global technology,” Mulholland wrote.
As the company has invested increasing sums in AI, these ambitions have come under scrutiny.
Last month, the EU opened an investigation into Google over its AI summaries that appear above search results.
The European Commission said it would investigate whether Google used website data to provide the service and failed to offer appropriate compensation to publishers.
Google said the investigation risks stifling innovation in a competitive market.
This week, Google parent Alphabet became the fourth company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion.
