Google avoided having to break up and sell off its browser and mobile operating systems divisions, thanks to a Tuesday ruling from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
The search giant lost an antitrust case before Mehta last year. He found that Google had operated as an illegal monopoly and engaged in anticompetitive practices in violation of the Sherman Act. The United States brought the case all the way back in 2020 and has spent years pushing for a downsizing of the company.
Mehta struck down the most severe penalties floated by the Department of Justice in his ruling on Tuesday, sparing the tech company from needing to sell off its popular browser Chrome and the Android operating system.
“Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” Mehta wrote.
Mehta ruled that Chrome must share more of its search data available to competitors. He also ruled that Google can no longer enforce contracts around its search product and other tools that require manufacturers to preload Google products on their devices. Mehta said this ban on strongarming was meant to keep Google from riding its near-total capture of search into a future dominance of AI-related products.
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Mehta said that the case required him to “gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future,” something he felt was “no judge’s forte.” Still, he felt that his ruling was fair, given his inability to know what the future holds.
“Courts must approach the task of crafting remedies with a healthy dose of humility,” Mehta said. “This court has done so.”
