Google appeals court ruling that found search monopoly

Google is appealing the court’s decision that it monopolized its online search and advertising businesses. In the meantime, the firm has also filed a notice to postpone the court order requiring it to share its data with rival firms as a remedy for its illegal monopoly. 

Alphabet’s owned search engine firm filed the appeal on Friday alongside the request to pend the implementation of the remedies to reduce its competitiveness against other search engine firms. The U.S. Court of Appeals is likely to hear the case, which, based on statistics, may take about a year to issue a decision after the appeal notice. This means if the appeal goes through, Google still has about a year to continue its operations without sharing data with rival firms. 

Google asks a U.S. Court Judge to postpone the ruling to share data with rivals

U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in 2024 that Google used unlawful tactics to maintain a monopoly against other search engine firms in the online search and advertising business. The case was first filed in 2020 during Trump’s first term before entering trial in the fall of 2023.  

According to Mehta’s ruling, Google signed deals with smartphone companies, including Samsung Electronics Inc. and Apple Inc., to make Google’s search engine the default. The search engine firm pays roughly $20 billion for those deals, which denied other companies key distribution channels.

The U.S. Justice Department filed to sell Google’s Chrome browser, a move Judge Mehta rejected in a second trial held last year. Instead, Mehta ruled that Google must continue to pay for its search engine and AI apps to be the default on its smartphone partners, but with the condition that the deals be rebid annually to allow its competitors an equal opportunity to compete. 

Additionally, Google was asked to share its company data with rivals. According to a Cryptopolitan report, the U.S. District Court ordered the firm to begin sharing specific data with its rivals, excluding exclusive deals that secure its default status on devices. The ruling meant that competitors, especially AI companies developing their own search engines, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity, may directly benefit from Google’s market insights.

Mulholland says the Court ignored the fact that people use Google willingly

Google confirmed that it’s prepared to do everything in its power to overturn the ruling that would require it to share its trade secrets while the appeal is pending. The firm believes that the remedies imposed by the court were unwarranted and should never have been imposed in the first place. As of now, the U.S. Justice Department and other complainants have until February 3 to appeal Mehta’s ruling, which rejected strong remedies such as the sale of its Chrome browser and its Android partnerships. 

According to Mulholland, Mehta’s ruling discounted compelling testimony from browser makers like Apple and Mozilla, who confirmed that they chose to feature the Alphabet firm because it provides the highest quality search experience for its consumers. 

Alphabet’s stock price has dropped 1% following the announcement, trading at $330.34 at the time of publication. The stock has also recorded an approximately 78% increase since July, with the acceleration in September following the ruling, and investors hope that the firm will take the lead in the AI search business. 

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.