Google is officially appealing the landmark antitrust ruling that found the company holds an illegal monopoly over the search market. As it begins the long appeals process, Google is also asking the court to pause the remedies from the case, which include a controversial requirement that it share its valuable search data with competitors.
In a statement, Google blasted the original ruling, saying it “ignored the reality that people use Google because they want to, not because they’re forced to.” The company also argued that the decision “failed to account for the rapid pace of innovation and intense competition we face.”
The remedies, which were a compromise from the Justice Department’s original proposal to force Google to sell its Chrome browser, are a major sticking point. Google says that forcing it to share its search data with rivals is a major privacy risk and would “discourage competitors from building their own products.”
The legal battle began in 2020, when the DOJ first sued Google. After a long trial, a federal judge ruled in 2024 that Google did, in fact, have a monopoly, thanks to its deals to be the default search engine on so many platforms and its control over search ads.
Now, the fight will head to a higher court. Google is clearly not going down without a fight, and this appeal is the first step in what is likely to be a long and drawn-out legal battle with huge implications for the future of the internet.
