Google avoids ad-business breakup, ordered to change operations
Judge Amit Mehta rejected DOJ requests to divest Chrome and Android, but ordered Google to end exclusive default deals and share search data.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Judge Amit Mehta rejected U.S. Justice Department proposals to break up Google's Chrome and Android.
- Google was ordered to end exclusive default placement deals and share certain search data with competitors.
- Google is currently appealing the remedies, while framing the outcome as a significant win.
- The government's antitrust case focused on exclusive agreements with device makers and mobile carriers.
Following the 2024 ruling, Justice Department officials suggested various ways Google’s search business could be broken up, including divesting its Chrome browser and Android operating system.
However, in September 2025, the judge overseeing the case, Amit Mehta, rejected those divestiture requests, ruling that Google could keep both Chrome and Android.
This ruling marks a critical milestone in antitrust enforcement within the tech sector. While avoiding a structural breakup, the mandatory operational remedies and data-sharing requirements could still reshape Google's competitive landscape in online search and advertising.
The judge did order the company to end exclusive default-placement deals and share certain search data with competitors, which are remedies that Google is currently appealing.
Unsurprisingly, Google framed the outcome as a win. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president for regulatory affairs, told TechCrunch in a statement regarding the decision.
“We’re very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ’s proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow.”
The online advertising ecosystem is notoriously opaque and byzantine, making it difficult to grasp for most people unfamiliar with its technical complexities.
Much of the government’s ad-tech case against Google revolved around the company’s tactics to ensure that its search engine was the default engine in devices across the world.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
To achieve this, Google used exclusive agreements with device manufacturers and entered into revenue sharing agreements with mobile carriers to cement its market position.
Source: TechCrunch
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