US Justice Department to appeal Google search monopoly ruling

The US Department of Justice and most state attorneys general plan to appeal a 2024 court ruling that found Google holds a monopoly in online search, according to court documents filed on February 3.

The federal judge in Washington rejected calls for stronger remedies, such as forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser or end its payments to Apple for default search placement.

Google has also appealed the ruling and asked for a stay on the order requiring data sharing with rivals during the appeals process.

Judge Amit Mehta noted the rise of generative AI companies like OpenAI as potential competitive threats, as the case remains part of broader antitrust scrutiny of big tech in the US.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Google’s payments to Apple continue with tighter rules

Google can keep paying Apple an estimated $20 billion a year to remain the default search option, though the judge set new limits 1.
Exclusivity is no longer allowed, plus each deal can run for only one year 2.
The shift adds uncertainty and boosts Apple’s bargaining power in yearly talks, given a separate reported revenue-share deal where Google pays Apple 36% of Safari search revenue 3.
Google also has to share search index and user interaction data with competitors to help them build their own search engines 4. Google is asking for a stay to pause that data-sharing step during the appeals process.

The ruling opens a new fight over AI search distribution

The judge applied the remedies to generative AI to stop Google from using the same anticompetitive playbook with the Gemini app that it used in search 5.
Non-exclusive, one-year terms create a yearly chance for AI-first search firms such as Perplexity or OpenAI to bid for default placement on devices 2.
Apple’s services chief said under oath that Apple is “actively looking” at AI options including Perplexity, OpenAI, and Anthropic 6.
One analyst survey cited by Marnoa Private Wealth Counsel puts Google’s share at 70% in August 2025, down from 80% in June 2024, while ChatGPT reached 13% 7.