United States v. Google LLC (2020) — BrandWiki

United States v. Google LLC (2020)

Overview

United States v. Google LLC

holding
court	United States District Court for the District of Columbia
imagesize	150
full name	United States, State of Arkansas, State of Florida, State of Georgia, State of Indiana, Commonwealth of Kentucky, State of Louisiana, State of Mississippi, State of Missouri, State of Montana, State of South Carolina and State of Texas v. Google LLC
date decided	August 5, 2024
judge	Amit P. Mehta
counsel for plaintiff	Kenneth Dintzer
plaintiff	United States Department of Justice
defendant	Google LLC

United States v. Google LLC is an ongoing federal antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against Google LLC, initiated on October 20, 2020. The suit alleges that Google has violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by illegally monopolizing the search engine and search advertising markets, most notably on Android devices, as well as with Apple and mobile carriers.[1]

The case was heard starting in September 2023 in the District Court for the District of Columbia with Judge Amit Mehta presiding.[2] Mehta issued a ruling in August 2024, finding that Google held a monopoly on their search engine technology, and illegally used that dominance in securing its position with mobile device and website partners.[3][4]

Legal proceedings

Launch of lawsuit and initial response (2020)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) formally brought the case on October 20, 2020, in conjunction with state attorneys general representing Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas.[1] As of 2023, Google was represented in the case by attorneys from Williams & Connolly, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Ropes & Gray.[22]

In United States v. Google LLC, the federal government alleges that Google has unfairly hindered competition in the search market through anti-competitive deals with Apple as well as mobile carriers.[23] The government alleges that, as a result of these practices, Google has accumulated control of around 88% of the domestic search engine market.

In doing so, the government alleges, Google has additionally monopolized the search advertising market at the expense of competing services.[24] Per the government's estimation, Google has been able to accumulate control of over 70% of the search advertising market.[9] As a result of the lack of competition, Google has been able to over-charge advertisers versus what they would pay in a competitive environment.[25]

Eric Schmidt, formerly CEO of both Google and parent company Alphabet Inc., criticized the lawsuit, stating that "There's a difference between dominance and excellence".[26] On Twitter, Google denied the DOJ's allegations, with the company stating that consumers use "Google because they choose to -- not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."[27]

Pre-trial proceedings and developments (2020–2023)

Owing to the accusation that Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct through exclusivity dealings with Apple, it was reported in February 2022 that the government was looking to depose "Apple's most senior executives."[28] On December 12, 2022, Google asked the court to toss out the case, arguing that the company fairly achieved its dominant market share and that the DOJ's argument "relies on dubious antitrust arguments."[29]

The government's investigation was led by Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division, Google questioned Kanter's impartiality in the case given his past work for rival companies.[30] Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe criticized Google's claims, arguing they have "little legal basis and strain common sense."[31] In May 2022, Kanter was temporarily removed from the case as the DOJ considered the allegations.[32]

Trial (2023–2024)

The trial began on September 12, 2023, with Kenneth Dintzer as DOJ's lead attorney.[40][2] In its opening statements, the DOJ accused Google of unlawfully maintaining a monopoly in the search engine market as early as 2010.[41] Google has defended itself from these accusations, with the company arguing that the high quality of its search products allows it to maintain a dominant position in the market.[42]

During the trial, Judge Mehta received criticism for closing courtroom access for certain testimonies in the case and for delaying the release of public documents pertaining to the case.[43][44] Media companies including Bloomberg News filed a motion to increase public trial access.[45] Following a week of deliberations between both parties, Mehta decided on September 27 that the DOJ would be permitted to publicly release documents shown in the trial.[46]

Much of the trial centered on Google's deal with Apple to have Google search as the default option on the Safari web browser.[47][48] Witnesses from Google, Verizon and Samsung testified about the impact of Google's annual payments of approximately $10 billion to maintain default status for Google search.[49] Following the culmination of the government's arguments, Google began its defense on October 26,[50] and the trial concluded on November 16..[51]

Following the trial, Mehta announced that closing arguments in the suit would be held in May 2024, and indicated he was uncertain as to how he would end up ruling in the case.[52][53] Reuters reported that legal analysts expected an appeal in the case, regardless of how it is decided,[7] while the verdict was expected to set an influential precedent for other federal antitrust suits against "Big Tech" companies like Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Apple.[10][11]

Initial verdict

On August 5, 2024, Mehta ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in "general search services and general text advertising".[54][55][56] After a hearing in September 2024, Mehta gave regulators until December to propose any penalties to be charged agianst Google, followed by an approval or rejection of those proposals by August 2025.[57]

The DOJ submitted its proposal on how to remedy Google's search monopoly on November 20, requesting that Judge Mehta should force the company to sell its Chrome web browser and either sell the Android operating system or ban making Google services mandatory on Android devices.[58][59]

Remedies trial (2025)

The Department of Justice's proposed penalties against Google, to break up its monopoly, were considered in another trial overseen by Judge Mehta in April 2025.[60][63][64] In a filing, the DOJ indicated that it would introduce about 400 exhibits over the course of the trial and call 19 witnesses, including multiple senior Google officials.[64] Google listed 20 witnesses, including its CEO Sundar Pichai, while describing the DOJ's proposal as "wildly overboard."[65]

In September 2025, Mehta ruled that Google would not be required to divest of Chrome or Android, but could no longer include search in exclusive contracts. Mehta also ruled that Google would be required to share certain search index data and user interaction data with competitors.[66] In delivering his ruling, Mehta declared “[U]nlike the typical case where the court’s job is to resolve a dispute based on historic facts, here the court is asked to gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future."[67]

Opinions were divided on which side prevailed in this ruling. The Department of Justice declared it a "significant win" in a press release,[68] while Barron's described it as “almost a best-case scenario" for Google's parent company, Alphabet.[69] Writing for The Verge, tech journalist Lauren Feiner said the remedies verdict signaled that the "antitrust fight against Big Tech may already be over."[70] Webbush stock analyst Dan Ives called it a "home run" for Google and "a green light for a bigger Gemini AI partnership between Apple and Google." Quartz described it as a "the business equivalent of a ceasefire."[71]

Mehta ordered Google and the Department of Justice to “meet and confer” and submit a revised final judgment by September 10 that aligns with his opinion.[72] The day of the ruling, Google's stock went up 8 points.[73] Google CEO Sundar Pichai thanked President Donald Trump the day after the remedies trial concluded.[74]

In December 2025, Judge Mehta added details to the injunctions against Google, including an order to make user data more openly available to competitors and to release information on how it trains it artificial intelligence applications.[75] As of early 2026, both Google and the U.S. Department of Justice have appealed different portions of Mehta's ruling, with Google seeking to overturn the judgment that its search engine is a monopoly,[76] while the government continues to contend that company should be split up as originally proposed at the beginning of the suit.[77]