Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., is appealing a U.S. court ruling stating the firm unlawfully monopolized online search engines and search advertising. Bloomberg reports this.
Google’s notice of appeal was lodged on Friday in Washington’s federal court, accompanied by a request to pause the lower court’s ruling while the appeal is considered. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will likely hear the case later this year. Statistics indicate that this court, which handles numerous appeals related to the federal government, typically issues a decision around a year after an appeal notice is filed.
The case, initiated in 2020 during Trump’s first presidency, proceeded to trial in late 2023. In August 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta determined the company illegally cornered the search engine market through agreements with Apple Inc. and other smartphone makers like Samsung Electronics Co., which mandated the use of its search engine as the standard option. The judge found that these deals, for which Google disburses over $20 billion annually, prevented rivals from accessing vital distribution pipelines.
During the proceedings in spring 2025, Mehta dismissed the Justice Department’s motion to force the divestiture of the popular Google Chrome browser. He ruled that Google can keep paying for its search engine and artificial intelligence applications as the default selection, but demanded that the contracts be reviewed every year to allow rival firms greater opportunities to compete. Market response to this decision was favorable. Google’s shares soared 56% since the September ruling, as investors view the search giant as a leader in artificial intelligence.
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