Court Hearing on Search Remedies

In a federal courthouse in Washington, a judge overseeing a landmark antitrust case heard arguments from Google and the Department of Justice about how to implement a court order that addresses Google’s alleged monopoly in the search market. The order requires Google to scale back certain tactics that favored its search engine and includes provisions for sharing search data with rivals and prohibiting exclusive distribution contracts.

The judge dismissed the DOJ’s most sweeping proposals, such as separating the Chrome browser, but affirmed measures intended to foster competition.

Google’s Push to Protect AI Growth

Representing Google, attorney John Schmidtlein urged the court not to block the company from bundling its Gemini artificial‑intelligence app with other Google products, including YouTube and Maps. He argued that the AI market is still emerging and that imposing the same restrictions as those placed on search would hinder Google’s innovation.

Judge Amit Mehta voiced concern that requiring manufacturers to install Gemini as a condition for accessing Maps and YouTube could give Google undue leverage to promote its AI offering. Google countered that services such as Maps and YouTube are not “monopoly products” and that the company has not yet achieved monopoly power in the AI sector.

The dialogue highlighted a tension between antitrust remedies aimed at correcting search‑related competition issues and Google’s desire to expand its AI portfolio without regulatory constraints.

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