Google has filed an appeal against a US district judge's landmark antitrust ruling that determined the company illegally held a monopoly in online search. The company is also requesting a pause on the implementation of court-ordered remedies aimed at limiting its market power.
In its announcement, Google stated that the August 2024 ruling by Judge Amit Mehta did not adequately consider the rapid pace of innovation and intense competition within the industry. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president for regulatory affairs, commented that individuals use Google by choice.
Judge Mehta acknowledged changes in Google's business, particularly with the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, when he issued his remedies in September. He declined the government's request for a Google breakup, which would have included spinning off the Chrome browser.
Instead, the court imposed less rigorous measures. These include requiring Google to share specific data, such as portions of its search index, with court-designated "qualified competitors." Google is also mandated to permit certain competitors to display its search results as their own, intended to support innovation among new entrants.
Mulholland expressed concerns about being compelled to share search data and syndication services with rivals. She argued that these mandates could jeopardize user privacy and disincentivize competitors from developing their own products, potentially hindering innovation in the U.S.
Google's AI initiatives have also attracted regulatory attention. Last month, the EU initiated an investigation into Google's AI summaries appearing above search results. The European Commission is examining whether Google utilized data from websites for this service without offering appropriate compensation to publishers. Google responded that this investigation risks hindering innovation in a competitive market.
Separately, Google's parent company, Alphabet, recently became the fourth company to achieve a market capitalization of $4 trillion.