Court mandates restructuring of Google's search division in antitrust suit, leaves Chrome and default arrangement untouched

In a landmark ruling, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., has ordered a shake-up of Google's search engine to curb the corrosive power of an illegal monopoly. The judge's decision, spanning 226 pages, will likely impact the technological landscape, particularly at a time when the industry is being reshaped by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.

The ruling comes after Judge Mehta found that Google had violated antitrust laws by using its dominance in the search market to stifle competition. However, the judge refrained from ordering a sale of Chrome because there wasn't adequate proof it served as an essential ingredient in Google's search monopoly.

The judge's decision recognizes the intense competition in the industry and the many ways people can choose services they want, underlining what Google has been saying since the case was filed in 2020. The judge has precluded contracts that give Google's search engine, Gemini AI app, Play Store for Android, and virtual assistant an exclusive position on smartphones, personal computers, and other devices.

Google has vowed to appeal the judge's monopoly findings from 13 months ago. Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, framed the ruling as a vindication of Google's long-held position that the case never should have been brought.

The decision will pry open some of Google's closely guarded information databases about search, which have provided the company with a seemingly insurmountable advantage. The judge is ordering Google to give its current and would-be rivals access to some of its search engine's secret sauce - the data stockpiled from trillions of queries.

The stock price of Alphabet Inc., Google's corporate parent, surged more than 7% in extended trading after the ruling. If the shares follow a similar trajectory in Wednesday's regular trading session, Alphabet's market value would increase by nearly $200 billion.

Apple's shares rose 3% in extended trading after the ruling came out. Apple receives more than $20 billion annually from Google, and the ruling could potentially impact this revenue stream. Apple warned the judge that banning the contracts could deprive the company of money for innovative research.

The ruling could also have implications for other tech giants. For instance, ChatGPT's owner, OpenAI, has expressed interest in buying Chrome. Perplexity submitted an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to buy Chrome last month.

Google is facing another antitrust case from the Justice Department targeting its digital ad empire. A trial for this case is scheduled to begin later this month. The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust chief, Gail Slater, hailed the decision as a "major win for the American people."

In conclusion, the ruling marks a significant shift in the tech industry, potentially opening up competition and fostering innovation. The impact of the decision remains to be seen, but it is clear that the landscape of the tech industry is set to change.