Google gets to keep Chrome but is barred from exclusive search deals, judge rules

Google CEO Sundar Pichai during the press conference after his meeting with Polish PM Donald Tusk at Google for Startups Campus In Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland on February 13, 2025. Images)Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesA federal judge ruled Tuesday that Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts and must share search data.Alphabet shares popped 6% in extended trading.U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice, including selling off its Chrome browser, which provides data that helps its advertising business deliver targeted ads. "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," the decision states. "Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints."The company can make payments to preload products, but they cannot have exclusive contracts, the decision showed.The DOJ asked Google to stop the practice of "compelled syndication," which refers to the practice of making certain deals with companies to ensure its search engine remains the default choice in browsers and smartphones. Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on iPhones. It's lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users.Apple shares rose 4% on Tuesday after hours.Read more CNBC tech newsKlarna aims to raise up to $1.27 billion in U.S. IPOTesla asks for $243 million verdict to be tossed in fatal Autopilot crash suitAlibaba is developing a new AI chip — here's what we know so farMeta changes teen AI chatbot responses as Senate begins probe into 'romantic' conversations"Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products. Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial—in some cases, crippling—downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban."In a landmark case filed in 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Google kept its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance.The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in August 2024 that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which outlaws monopolies, saying the company has held an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search.Mehta oversaw the remedies trial in May, where the two parties proposed penalties that should be taken against Google as a result of the monopoly ruling. During that trial, the DOJ asked the judge to force Google to share the data it uses for generating search results, such as data about what users click on.Google said it will appeal the ruling, which would delay any potential penalties.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconGoogle and Apple one-day stock chart.watch now