Google won’t be Forced to Sell Chrome, Judge Rules

Google won’t be forced to sell Chrome after a federal district judge ruled divestment a “poor fit” in a landmark antitrust case, though the company will have to share data that helped it maintain its search monopoly, Alexis Keenan and Daniel Howley reported for Yahoo Finance.

The provision allows Google to continue paying Apple about $20 billion per year to keep Google Search as the default engine on Safari and Siri.

The ruling from District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta sent Google’s stock up nearly 6% in premarket trading.

As part of the decision, Mehta ruled that Google can continue making payments to “distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or GenAI products.”

That provision allows Google to continue paying Apple about $20 billion per year to keep Google Search as the default engine on Safari and Siri.

The Justice Department had sought a forced sale of Google’s search business, along with an order to end the multibillion-dollar contracts that have cemented its market dominance—moves the judge declined to make.

“Plaintiffs have not shown that their behavioral remedies will be ineffective without the immediate divestiture of Chrome,” Mehta wrote.

The court’s role, he added, is to distinguish between conduct that maintains a monopoly through anticompetitive acts and conduct that fuels a monopoly through a superior product.