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Judge Formalizes Limits on Google’s Deals With Apple and AI Expansion

By  |  December 7, 2025

A U.S. federal judge has delivered further clarification on the penalties Google will face after being found to have illegally maintained dominance in online search, according to CNBC. The update marks the latest development in the landmark antitrust case that has unfolded over more than a year.

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    Google was ruled in mid-2024 to have operated an unlawful monopoly in search and search advertising. Per CNBC, the Department of Justice had pushed for harsh measures — including forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser — but U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta declined to impose that level of structural change in a ruling earlier this fall.

    Instead, the tech giant must reduce its control over critical search data that helped cement its market position. On Friday, Mehta issued a set of additional provisions that will govern how those remedies are enforced.

    “The age-old saying ‘the devil is in the details’ may not have been devised with the drafting of an antitrust remedies judgment in mind, but it sure does fit,” Mehta wrote in one of the filings.

    One area under tight scrutiny is Google’s long-standing default search agreements, such as the multibillion-dollar deal that makes Google Search the preset option on Apple devices. Mehta ruled that Google cannot sign similar contracts unless they expire within a year of being enacted, according to CNBC. Those arrangements currently keep Google as the default search engine for users of Safari on iPhones, iPads and Macs.

    The ruling also extends to deals involving generative artificial intelligence services. Any product or tool incorporating generative AI or large language models will fall under the restrictions, with Mehta noting that GenAI “plays a significant role in these remedies.”

    Read more: Apple Moves to Halt India Antitrust Case Over Penalty Rules

    Oversight of Google’s compliance will be handled by a technical committee with deep expertise in industries relevant to Google’s technology, including software engineering, information retrieval, AI, behavioral science, and data ethics. Committee members must not have worked for Google or its rivals within a defined time period and will be granted access to the company’s source code and algorithms under confidentiality rules.

    The judge reiterated that Google will be required to provide certain competitors with access to web index and search interaction data — though not its proprietary ranking models. Earlier filings stated that the data to be shared represents a limited portion of Google’s overall traffic, but reflects information that has contributed to its competitive advantage.

    Mehta previously determined that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, ruling in August 2024 that the company monopolized search and related advertising markets following a trial that began in September 2023.

    Google has said it plans to appeal the monopoly decision. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, according to CNBC.

    Source: CNBC