This judgement is an historic failure that benefits no-one but Google and Apple. The remedies proposed are weak and will only serve to entrench Google’s search monopoly at all levels. The failure to force the divestiture of Chrome is a missed opportunity to deliver real public interest benefits and the proposed technical remedies around data sharing and exclusive agreements are insufficient to create real change.
The ruling on exclusive agreements might look powerful but it won’t change a thing. Google will continue to pay Apple, and the telcos, billions for ‘non-exclusive’ placement so that these partners won’t have any incentive to compete.
Google was already the gatekeeper for the web and this judgement gold plates that gate and gives them an official gatekeeper’s badge. They have kept control of the assets that their illegal monopoly built. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new future for the web and its been completely missed.
We encourage the DoJ to appeal this decision as its fails to deliver on any of the goals that they set out to achieve in their proposed remedies. Judge Mehta appears to have been so worried about avoiding Google’s appeals that he lost sight of the overarching aim of this trial. He couldn’t see the wood for the trees and that has fundamentally compromised the effectiveness of this judgement. It is not a remedy if it does not remediate the harm to competition.
Looking forwards, there is still a lot more to do. The forthcoming AdTech trial still has the potential to open up a degree of competition in that specific market and there are numerous cases in front of the competition authorities worldwide that have effectively been on hold awaiting this verdict. We encourage the antitrust authorities everywhere to avoid the traps that this judgement has fallen into and to take action to create a better web for the future.
There remains a significant question mark over AI. AI and AI overviews were not addressed in the trial in 2023, they don’t form part of the judgement in 2024, and so they can’t easily be subject to remedies in 2025. That is what Judge Mehta found. The issue that is now on the table is what happens when Google’s Gemini AI Overviews supress other publishers and competitors by exploiting their content. These are antitrust abuses and illegal. Google is dominant and that isn’t going to change soon. Its AIO promotion and displays cause irreparable harm to publishers. We have evidence of considerable harm. That now must be addressed.