In a landmark decision earlier this year, Judge Amit Mehta determined that Google violated U.S. antitrust laws by hindering competition in the search engine market, specifically breaching section 2 of the Sherman Act. Despite confirming Google's monopoly status in search, the judge opted against forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser, describing such a move as "incredibly messy."
Significant Modification to Google-Apple Default Search Agreement
Following his August 2024 ruling, Judge Mehta formalized restrictions aimed at curbing Google's dominance. Notably, while Google can continue paying companies to be the default search engine on devices, these contracts can no longer be long-term, multi-year deals. Google currently pays Apple approximately $20 billion annually—reportedly 36% of Safari’s search revenue—to remain the default on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
The new regulation mandates that any such search engine agreements can only last up to one year. This paradigm shift opens the door for competitors like Microsoft’s Bing to outbid Google during annual contract negotiations, potentially replacing Google as the default search engine across Apple devices.
Committee Established to Oversee Search Data Sharing
Judge Mehta’s ruling also requires Google to share a one-time snapshot of its Search Index—the extensive database of URLs and web pages—with qualified competitors. This sharing is designed to level the playing field and empower rival search engines, including AI-powered ones like OpenAI and Perplexity, to build competitive services without starting from scratch.
A newly formed technical committee, comprising experts in software engineering, information retrieval, AI, economics, behavioral science, data privacy, and security, will determine which companies receive access to this data. To ensure impartiality, committee members cannot have worked for Google or its competitors within six months prior to or one year following their tenure on the panel.
Expanding the Scope to Generative AI Products
The judge’s decision further extends to agreements involving generative AI and large language model products, encompassing any applications, software, or features utilizing such technology. This move reflects growing regulatory attention on AI’s expanding role in search and related fields.
Google’s Obligations and Industry Impact
Beyond sharing the search index snapshot, Google must also provide user-interaction data—including search queries and click data—to rivals. These insights will help competitors refine their algorithms and improve the relevance and quality of their results, narrowing the performance gap with Google’s search engine.
Although Google announced plans to appeal the monopoly ruling, the company has, thus far, avoided more disruptive remedies such as divesting Chrome or Android units, which had been rumored possibilities. Despite challenges throughout 2024, Google appears to be in a relatively favorable position as 2025 progresses.
