In a notable shift during the ongoing legal clash over Google’s dominance in search, a federal judge in Washington signaled openness to less drastic solutions than the decade-long overhaul proposed by regulators.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, presiding over the trial, remarked Friday that the fast-moving tech landscape might render a lengthy, rigid mandate less effective. He pointed to recent moves in AI, like OpenAI’s acquisition of a device startup, underscoring how quickly the field is evolving.
The government and a coalition of states want Google to stop paying billions to Apple and other smartphone makers to be the default search engine and to share search data more freely with rivals. But Mehta floated a more measured approach — perhaps limited data sharing only if competition doesn’t improve on its own, and possibly ending Apple’s payments contingent on other changes.
Notably, the judge questioned whether today’s emerging AI assistants will replace traditional search engines rather than direct competitors like Bing or DuckDuckGo. “Maybe people don’t want just 10 blue links anymore,” Mehta observed, hinting that AI companies could disrupt how search works in the future.
The court is wrestling with how Google’s stronghold in search also boosts its AI ambitions, especially with products like Gemini. OpenAI’s ChatGPT team testified that access to Google’s search data could accelerate their progress, but the judge was skeptical about lumping AI firms into the same bucket as search engines when defining competition.
Google’s attorney argued that generative AI is reshaping search and competition but insisted Google has already loosened exclusive deals that limited rivals’ access to devices. They also warned against forcing Google to hand over years of proprietary technology to newcomers.
The case, which began in April, is expected to see a decision by August, with the judge carefully weighing how to balance innovation and fair competition in a landscape where search and AI increasingly intersect.
