The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today imposed landmark remedies in the Justice Department’s monopolization case against Google, ordering the tech giant to share critical search data with competitors and outlawing exclusive distribution agreements for its flagship products.
The ruling stops short of forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser but mandates structural changes designed to restore competition in online search and search advertising.
At the center of United States et al. v. Google is Google’s stranglehold on general search services—where it has commanded roughly 90 percent of U.S. queries for years by locking in default placements and revenue-sharing deals on billions of devices.
The court found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining its monopoly through exclusionary agreements that preinstall Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app, while prohibiting rivals from gaining similar access.
A 277-page opinion in August 2024 concluded that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”
Under the remedies ordered today, Google is barred from entering or renewing any exclusive contracts that condition the distribution of one of its applications on the placement or licensing of another. Specifically, Google may no longer:
- Require that any of its apps—Search, Chrome, Assistant, or Gemini—be preloaded, placed, or set as default in order to license any other Google application.
- Tie revenue-share payments for one Google product to the distribution of another.
- Impose long-term (beyond one year) revenue-sharing deals contingent on maintaining any of these apps on a device or browser.
- Prohibit partners from installing or distributing any competing search engine, browser, or generative AI product alongside Google’s offerings.
These prohibitions aim to dismantle the closed distribution channels that have long shut out emerging rivals and stifled innovation.
Beyond distribution remedies, the court ordered Google to grant qualified competitors access to its search index and anonymized user-interaction data—information essential for delivering high-quality search results.
Google must also provide search and search text ads syndication services, enabling rivals to serve ads alongside search results and compete in the lucrative search-advertising market.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi described the ruling as “an important step forward in the Department of Justice’s ongoing fight to protect American consumers,” noted.
Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Antitrust Division emphasized that today’s remedy “will pry open the market for general search services, which has been frozen in place for over a decade.”
Both officials credited the efforts begun under the first Trump administration and carried forward under the second.
The case, originally filed in October 2020 and joined by eleven state attorneys general, gained further state support over its five-year progression.
By the time of the remedies hearing in May 2025, 49 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia had joined the United States in pursuing relief against Google.
A nine-week bench trial in late 2023 laid bare the depth of Google’s exclusionary practices. Evidence showed that Google used monopoly profits to secure privileging arrangements with device manufacturers, carriers, and browser developers—creating a self-reinforcing cycle that locked users into Google’s ecosystem while shutting out potential entrants.
The court’s order goes beyond traditional search services to encompass Google’s burgeoning generative AI (“GenAI”) products.
Remedies extend to the Gemini app and any generative AI technologies, preventing Google from replicating its anticompetitive tactics in the rapidly evolving AI market.
As Google evaluates its options for appeal or compliance, the ruling promises to transform the digital search landscape.
By forcing data sharing and dismantling exclusive deals, regulators aim to reignite competition, spur innovation, and give American consumers more choice in how they search and interact online.
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