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In what could be seen as a significant victory for Google and its parent, Alphabet, a federal antitrust judge has dismissed some of the most extreme remedies proposed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to address Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices. These practices included maintaining Google as the default search engine on browsers and smartphones through substantial payments to partners like Apple.
The U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in 2024 that Alphabet’s Google had violated antitrust laws by maintaining an illegal monopoly in the search sphere. This led to a remedy trial that concluded early May 2025, during which the DOJ sought to compel Alphabet to divest its Chrome browser and the open-source Chromium project, even listing potential buyers such as Yahoo, OpenAI, and Perplexity.
Alphabet argued that divesting Chrome would compromise user privacy and security due to Google’s proprietary technology being deeply integrated within the browser. The judge ultimately barred Google from entering into exclusive agreements that prioritize its search engine on other platforms but did not order the divestiture of either Chrome or the Android OS, deeming the government’s request an “overreach.”
Instead, Judge Mehta required Google to share some data with rival search engines and allowed it to continue paying for the distribution of its products, including its search engine and AI-related offerings, as long as these agreements do not lead to exclusivity. He also believed that generative AI chatbots posed a “nascent competitive threat” to Google’s dominance in search, leading him to devise remedies aimed at ensuring this dominance does not extend into the AI space.
The judge permitted Google to continue paying Apple around $20 billion annually for making its search engine available on Safari, though these agreements cannot be exclusive. This could potentially reduce the current price tag significantly.
Google previously stated it would appeal the ruling, particularly regarding liability clauses related to exclusivity agreements.
Perplexity AI submitted a $34.5 billion bid for Google Chrome in early August 2025, which was not seriously considered by Google. Interestingly, Perplexity itself is currently valued at around $18 billion.
To sweeten its offer, Perplexity AI committed to maintaining the open-source Chromium project.
While it’s unclear exactly what enterprise value Chrome has, recent estimates range between $20 billion and $50 billion.
Alphabet still faces a remedy trial in Google’s ad tech case, where the search giant was found liable for maintaining an illegal monopoly. Additionally, Alphabet is facing antitrust repercussions in the Epic vs. Google case, where a federal jury concluded in December 2023 that Google maintained a monopoly on Android app distribution and in-app billing services.
