Google appeals court ruling ordering data sharing after search monopoly finding

Google has filed an appeal and asked a U.S. District Court judge to pause implementation of remedies that would force it to share company data with rivals after being found to have unlawfully maintained a monopoly in search and advertising. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta’s 2024 ruling concluded Google used exclusionary agreements — paying about $20 billion to make its search the default on devices from partners such as Apple and Samsung — to block distribution channels for competitors. Mehta’s later remedy requires Google to rebid default-search deals annually and to provide certain data access to competitors, potentially aiding AI search rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity. Google argues the remedies are unwarranted, saying users choose Google voluntarily and that the decision ignored market competition and innovation. The company filed the appeal and a request to pend the data-sharing order; the U.S. Court of Appeals may take ~1 year to decide, during which Google could avoid implementing the data-sharing remedy. The Justice Department and other plaintiffs have until February 3 to appeal aspects of Mehta’s ruling. Alphabet’s stock dipped about 1% on the announcement but remains up year-to-date amid investor expectations about AI-led growth.