Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser in order to address its illegal monopoly in online search, DC District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Tuesday. Over a year ago, Judge Mehta found that the search giant had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act; his ruling now determines what Google must do in response. Mehta declined to grant some of the more ambitious proposals from the Justice Department to remedy Google’s behavior and restore competition to the market. Besides letting Google keep Chrome, he’ll also let the company continue to pay distribution partners for preloading or placement of its search or AI products. But he did order Google to share some valuable search information with rivals that could help jumpstart their ability to compete, and bar the search giant from making exclusive deals to distribute its search or AI assistant products in ways that might cut off distribution for rivals. It’s the most significant antitrust remedies ruling against a tech giant in about 25 years, since the DOJ’s case against Microsoft. While it marks a major milestone in the case, it could still be years until Google is actually required to implement these solutions — if ever.

Full US v. Google: Judge Amit Mehta says “allowing Google to continue making payments is more palatable now” as GenAI companies “are in a better position” to compete.