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US Justice Department, States Challenge Google Antitrust Remedies in Appeal

By  |  February 4, 2026

The United States Department of Justice and a broad group of state attorneys general have filed an appeal challenging the remedies ordered against Alphabet’s Google after a landmark antitrust ruling on the company’s dominance in online search, according to Reuters. Court filings made public on Tuesday show that federal prosecutors and most of the states involved are dissatisfied with how far the judge went in addressing Google’s market power.

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    Last year, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta concluded that Google unlawfully protected its search monopoly through a web of agreements with smartphone makers, browser developers and other partners, including major contracts with Apple that ensured Google was set as the default search engine on new devices, per Reuters. While the ruling confirmed Google’s liability, the remedies stopped short of forcing dramatic structural changes to the company.

    Under Mehta’s order, Google must give certain competitors access to raw search data and is barred from using exclusive contracts tied to its search engine and artificial intelligence products, according Reuters. The judge, however, declined to require Google to sell off major businesses such as its Chrome web browser or Android mobile operating system, and he did not block the company from continuing to pay for default placement on devices.

    Related: Judge Rejects Multibillion-Dollar Penalty Request in Google Privacy Case

    Those limits on the court’s response are at the center of the government’s new appeal. According Reuters, the Justice Department and state officials are expected to argue that the judge should have imposed tougher measures, including breaking off parts of Google’s business or prohibiting its multibillion-dollar payments to Apple that secure Google as the default search option for millions of users.

    Google is simultaneously pursuing its own appeal, seeking to overturn the finding that it violated antitrust law. The company has also asked the court to pause the requirement that it share data with rivals while the appeals process plays out, a process that could stretch on for many months, per Reuters.

    The judge has noted that the competitive landscape is not static. In the years since the government first brought its case, new generative artificial intelligence firms such as OpenAI have entered the market and now pose emerging challenges to Google’s dominance, according Reuters.

    Source: Reuters