Judge considers breaking up Google, limiting its AI dominance
31 May 2025

The US District Court is contemplating major changes to Google, including a potential breakup and restrictions on its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The move comes after the Justice Department accused the tech giant of monopolizing the online search market.

Judge Amit Mehta will decide whether to break up the company or impose more limited remedies. He plans to rule by August.

Justice Department's radical proposals against Google
Proposed measures

The Justice Department has proposed radical measures against Google, including forcing the company to sell its popular Chrome web browser and share some data it collects to create its search results.

The department also wants Judge Mehta to ban Google from paying for search engine defaults, a restriction that would also apply to Google's AI products like Gemini.

Judge questions effectiveness of remedies in promoting competition
Market impact

Judge Mehta has questioned the government whether the proposed remedies would effectively promote competition.

He is also considering whether limiting Google's role in generative AI would be an appropriate solution to its search dominance.

The judge has previously ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly over the online search market, and antitrust regulators fear this could extend to generative AI.

Google's distribution contracts and potential market harm
Contract concerns

At the heart of the case are contracts with Apple and other device makers, where Google pays billions annually to be their default search engine.

Google's lawyers argue that banning these payments would only benefit big competitors like Microsoft while harming consumers, browser companies, and device makers.

Mehta warned that cutting off payments could cause widespread market harm, even putting some partners out of business.

Judge Mehta's stance on payment ban and competition
Ban implications

Judge Mehta asked if exceptions could be made to the payment ban, but Justice Department lawyer David Dahlquist rejected that idea.

He argued that even Apple executive Eddy Cue wasn't fully opposed to the government's proposals.

Google's lead attorney John Schmidtlein objected to any payment ban, saying it wouldn't address unlawful conduct or be connected to the violation in this case.

Google's response to proposed remedies and market restructuring
AI concerns

Google has argued that the government's proposals are too extreme and would harm American consumers, the economy, and weaken US technological leadership.

Schmidtlein said the court should focus on addressing specific illegal conduct rather than imposing extensive remedies, including on Google's generative AI products, that could fundamentally restructure the market.

However, Judge Mehta seemed skeptical of this argument for more limited remedies, suggesting he may consider including AI-related measures in his decision.

AI chatbots as a threat to traditional search engines
AI impact

AI chatbots are already seen as a threat to traditional search engines, as they can answer users' queries directly with AI-generated responses.

During the trial, representatives from AI companies claimed they were already facing challenges due to Google's dominance.

Perplexity's Chief Business Officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, testified that Google's contract with Lenovo Group Ltd.'s Motorola prevented it from setting Perplexity as the default assistant on the company's new devices.

US seeks to divest Google of Chrome browser
Browser divestment

The US has also asked Judge Mehta to force Google to sell its popular Chrome web browser.

This move is aimed at providing relief to the market as Chrome accounts for 35% of Google's total queries and is a major contributor to its search business.

Representatives from AI start-ups OpenAI and Perplexity testified during the trial that they would be interested in buying Chrome if Google were forced to sell it.