Google appeals a US court ruling that found it holds illegal online search monopolies
Google has appealed a US court ruling that found it illegally blocked search rivals by paying firms like Apple
Alphabet's Google has appealed a ruling by a Washington federal judge that found the company holds illegal monopolies in online search and related advertising.
The appeal, filed on Friday, argues that US District Judge Amit Mehta made legal errors in his 2024 ruling, which concluded that Google had illegally blocked competitors by paying billions of dollars annually to companies, including Apple, to secure its position as the default search engine on new devices.
Google's defence
Google contended that the agreements with device makers and browser developers did not prevent those parties from promoting rival search services such as Microsoft's Bing.
The company argued that its dominance in the market was the result of fair competition, stating that it built "a superior search engine through hard work, bold innovation, and shrewd business decisions."
What the original ruling required
Judge Mehta had ordered Google to share certain search data with competitors — potentially including artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI — to restore competition in the market. A successful appeal would overturn that order entirely.
What happens next
The US Department of Justice is expected to file its own arguments in July. A spokesperson for the DOJ declined to comment.
Should Google lose at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the company could pursue a further appeal to the US Supreme Court.