Google/DoJ antitrust ruling: Google must share data

Google will not need to sell off its Chrome browser – which is what the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had called for – as a remedy for violating antitrust laws.

Instead, the US District Court for the District of Columbia has prohibited Google from entering or maintaining exclusive contracts relating to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant and the Gemini app.

The court also ordered Google to make certain search index and user interaction data available to rivals and potential rivals, and to offer search and search text ads syndication services to enable rivals and potential rivals to compete.

Third-party access to data is something adMarketplace co-CEO and president Adam Epstein wants to see. When Epstein – who was an expert witness during the trial – spoke to Computer Weekly in May, he described the benefits of having access to this data.

“Google has a tremendous amount of data,” he said. “It has tremendous engineers who have built phenomenal products. There’s no doubt about any of those things, and if Google licenses some of these things, we can create new and differentiated products on top of them, which would unlock a lot of value for consumers, advertisers and publishers.”

Questions remain over how Google will proceed. Google said the court recognised that with artificial intelligence (AI), the industry has moved on. The company sees AI-based information retrieval as the next frontier to conquer.

The DoJ claimed a victory for consumers, stating that the court’s ruling recognises the need for remedies that will pry open the market for general search services, which have been frozen in place for over a decade. The DoJ said the ruling also recognises the need to prevent Google from using the same anticompetitive tactics for its GenAI generative AI (GenAI) products as it used to monopolise the search market.

Google has a tremendous amount of data [and] tremendous engineers who have built phenomenal products. If Google licenses some of these things, we can create new and differentiated products on top of them, which would unlock a lot of value for consumers, advertisers and publishers

“This decision marks an important step forward in the Department of Justice’s ongoing fight to protect American consumers. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue our legal efforts to hold companies accountable for monopolistic practices,” said attorney general Pamela Bondi.  

Assistant attorney general Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s antitrust division added: “The first Trump administration sued Google to restore competition for millions of Americans subjected to Google’s monopoly abuses. Today, the second Trump administration has won a remedy to do just that.”

In August 2024, the US District Court for the District of Columbia released a 277-page opinion, concluding that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly” in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

Slater said the Justice Department would continue to review the opinion to consider its options and next steps regarding seeking additional relief. “I am immensely proud of the dedicated public servants of the antitrust division and their tireless work on this case alongside our state partners,” she added.

The latest decision follows a 15-day remedies trial in May 2025.

Commenting on the remedies, Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice-president of regulatory affairs at Google, said: “Today’s decision recognises how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI. The court has imposed limits on how we distribute Google services, and will require us to share search data with rivals.

“We have concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy, and we’re reviewing the decision closely. The court did recognise that divesting Chrome and Android would have gone beyond the case’s focus on search distribution, and would have harmed consumers and our partners.”