Google appeals US conviction for monopoly in search engine market

Company argues its dominant position comes from user preference, not anti-competitive practices

Trade

Image: Ekaterina-Bolovtsova via Pexels

Google has lodged an appeal against the ruling of a US federal judge who found the company guilty of maintaining an illegal monopoly in the search engine market. This legal move will likely delay the enforcement of any penalties for as long as the case is ongoing.

In a blog post on Friday, Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of regulatory affairs at Google, argued that users consciously choose Google. According to her, they do so out of preference, not coercion. She stressed the rapid developments and fierce competition in the sector and pointed to the presence of both established players and well-funded start-ups.

The antitrust trial began in September 2023 and culminated in August 2024 in a ruling by US District Judge Amit Mehta. The judge ruled that Google had violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by creating a monopoly in search and related advertising. As expected, Google announced it would appeal the decision.

Last spring, Google and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) conducted a so-called remedies process to determine the appropriate consequences for Google. In this process, testimony was given by representatives of Apple, Mozilla, OpenAI and other competitors. In September 2025, Judge Mehta rejected the harshest penalties proposed by the DoJ, including the forced divestiture of Google’s Chrome browser. That outcome was seen as a victory for Google, leading to an 8% rise in the company’s share price.

Judge Mehta finalised the measures in December. He ordered Google to share some of its raw search interaction data, which are used to train its ranking and AI systems, but exempted the company from the obligation to disclose its actual algorithms. In addition, he prohibited Google from entering into agreements similar to its existing search deal with Apple, unless such agreements have a maximum term of one year.

Analysts at the time regarded these relatively mild measures as little more than a slap on the wrist. Google is now asking for a suspension of their implementation. Mulholland argued that the measures could jeopardise users’ privacy and discourage competitors from developing their own products, ultimately hampering innovation in the US tech sector.

Business AM

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