Google must share search data with competition, may keep Chrome and Android

A US federal court in antitrust law against the data company had decided that Google’s search engine business is illegal. Now the judge has announced the sanctions resulting from this. Accordingly, the group is not split up and can keep products such as the Chrome-Webbrowser and the Android operating system. However, Google is obliged to share search data and search results with “qualified competitors”.

This means that the US court in Washington, DC, only partially followed the plaintiff’s claims. The U.S. Ministry of Justice and a number of US states had requested that Google Chrome were to sell. Google is a monopolist and uses its dominant position, so that at least the browser business is to be split off, it was said in the procedure, which was still exhausted under the then US President Joe Biden at the beginning of 2021 (Az. 1: 20-CV-03010-APM).

Judge demands openness and moderation of Google

US judge Amit P. Mehta has not complied with this, like that New York Times reports. He had explained last year: “Google is a monopolist and also acted like someone to maintain his monopoly.” But now he strikes conciliatory tones and writes: “The plaintiffs have overwhelmed themselves with the demand for a forced sale of this key activa, although Google did not use them to implement illegal restrictions.”

However, Google is not nearly torn away. The judge prohibits the data group the conclusion of exclusive contracts for Google search, Chrome, the Google assistant and the Gemini app. One of the allegations was that Google paid $ 26 billion in 2021 alone, not least to Apple that Chrome and Google search are pre-installed on end devices. This is almost four times the amount of the entire other costs of the search engine, according to the judge.

However, Google can still pay manufacturers to install and prioritize the search engine and web browser on the devices, but only to a limited extent. “Unlike in a typical case, in which it is the job of the court to solve a dispute on the basis of historical facts, the court is asked to look into a crystal ball and look into the future,” writes Mehta According to Theewrap. “Not exactly the strength of a judge.”

Google probably defends itself anyway, even in the monopoly process for advertising

Despite the concessions regarding Chrome and Android, Google should appeal to obtain a milder judgment. This should take the procedure for years, so that the market situation can continue to change in view of the technological development. It is already said that AI search engines change the Internet, because more and more people are using chatbots of artificial intelligence instead of the classic search engine for your questions. Google’s market shares could therefore change massively in the next few years.

At the same time, another judgment of the data group is expected soon, because in April another US court found an illegal monopoly on Google. The procedure was about technologies to place online advertisements. The hearing to the legal remedies is to be continued in September, and a corresponding decision is still pending.