Google Avoids Harsh Antitrust Penalties as US Judge Blocks Exclusive Search Deals

The long fight over Google’s dominance in online search reached a turning point this week, with a US judge issuing a ruling that reins in some of Google’s business practices but stops short of breaking up the company. The decision also shields Apple from losing billions in annual payments it receives from Google to keep its search engine front and center on iPhones.

The case has been running for five years. Last year, US District Judge Amit Mehta found that Google had broken the law by using its power to control the search market for over a decade. The judge has now given his decision on what penalties Google should face. He said Google can no longer sign exclusive contracts that block rivals from appearing as search options. This means Apple, Samsung, or other device makers cannot be forced to only use Google Search.

But the judge also said Google can continue making payments to companies like Apple to stay the default search engine. According to a media report, the judge explained that cutting off those payments would hurt Apple and others, because they rely on the revenue to support their products. Google pays the iPhone maker over $20 billion a year to stay the default on Safari, hence this deal is extremely valuable for Apple. 

The ruling is being seen as a big win for Google and Apple. Google avoided a forced sale of Chrome, which the Justice Department had demanded. Judge Mehta noted that AI chatbots and new tools are starting to challenge Google’s dominance in search, so the market may shift naturally.

Still, the ruling is not a free pass. Google will have to share some of its search data with rivals, giving them a better chance to compete. Exclusive deals are also banned going forward, which could open small doors for competitors.

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