DOJ Wins Landmark Antitrust Case Against Google, Orders Sweeping Remedies to Restore Competition

In a historic ruling, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has won sweeping remedies in its monopolisation case against Google, aimed at curbing the tech giant’s dominance in online search and extending oversight into generative AI products. In United States et al. v. Google, the U.S.

District Court for the District of Columbia issued measures designed to dismantle Google’s grip on the general search market and to curb anticompetitive tactics in the emerging GenAI landscape, including prohibiting exclusive contracts relating to Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant and the Gemini app, and requiring rivals to access certain search index and user-interaction data, as well as offer search and search text ads syndication services.

According to the DOJ, the court described the move as extending into the GenAI arena and breaking up a monopoly that had been “frozen in place for over a decade.” The case originally began in October 2020 with support from 11 state attorneys general and grew to include 49 states, two territories and the District of Columbia, reflecting broad concerns about Google’s impact on competition, innovation and consumer choice.

Evidence presented detailed how exclusive agreements kept Google as the preset default on billions of devices and how contracts prohibited preinstallation of rival search engines, with claims that Google used its profits to secure preferential treatment in a self-reinforcing cycle of monopolization, accounting for approximately 90 percent of all US search queries for years.

This week’s remedies come after a 15‑day remedies trial in May 2025, and the DOJ signalled it would review the court’s opinion and consider additional relief if necessary.