Google will not have to give in its Chrome browser but will have to change some of its business practices, has deemed a federal judge. The decision comes more than a year after the same judge judged that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in internet research.
Following the decision last year, the Ministry of Justice proposed that Google be forced to sell Chrome. But in a 230 -page decision, judge Amit Mehta said the government had “exceeded” at his request. “Google will not be required to disintegrate Chrome; the Court will not include a contingent disinvestment of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” wrote Mehta. “The applicants overestimated in the search for forced disinvestment of these key assets, which Google did not use to perform illegal constraints.”
Google will no longer be authorized to conclude exclusive agreements around the distribution of research, from Google Assistant, Gemini or Chrome, judged Mehta. For example, Google cannot demand that the manufacturers of devices pre-charge its applications in order to access the Play Store. Nor can he condition the provisions for sharing income on the placement of his applications. But Google will be able to continue to pay partners – such as Apple – for preloading and other applications in their products. Mehta said that the end of these arrangements could lead to “downstream damage to distribution partners, related markets and consumers”.
Mehta also judged that Google will have to share some of its research data with competitors in the future. “The provision of data for competitors would reduce the scale difference created by the exclusive distribution agreements of Google and, in turn, the quality gap that followed,” he wrote. The company is not required to put data related to its ads.
Mehta’s decision is largely a victory for the research giant, who argued that the divestment of Chrome or Android “would harm the Americans and the world’s technological leadership in America”. In a statement on Tuesday, Google said it had “concerns” concerning certain aspects of the decision.
“Today’s decision recognizes how the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which gives people so much more ways to find information,” said society. “Now, the court has imposed limits on how we distribute Google Services and we will force to share research data with competitors. We have concerns about how these requirements will have an impact on our users and their privacy, and we are looking closely at the decision.”
The company previously indicated that it was planning to appeal from Mehta’s initial decision, but said in June that it would expect a final decision in the case.
Update, September 2, 2025, 4:28 p.m. PT: This message has been updated to add a Google declaration to the decision.
