DOJ wins Google search-monopoly remedies: federal court bans exclusive deals for Chrome, Gemini, and Assistant distribution

The DOJ Beat Google. The Court Banned the Deals That Built the Monopoly.

In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in the general search market. The ruling identified exclusive distribution agreements — most prominently the $18–26 billion annual deal with Apple to be the default search engine on Safari — as the key mechanism of that monopoly. In 2026, the remedies phase concluded with a federal court imposing structural restrictions on how Google can distribute its products.

The Banned Arrangements

The court's remedies order prohibits Google from entering exclusive agreements for the distribution of Chrome as a browser, Gemini as a default AI assistant, and Google Assistant as a voice interface. These agreements were how Google guaranteed itself default status across the hardware ecosystem — on iPhones, Android devices, and carrier-bundled products. The bans do not prevent Google from offering its products. They prevent Google from paying for exclusivity.

The Parallel Ruling

In November 2025, Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a separate ruling finding Google guilty of monopolizing the digital advertising technology market. That ruling — covering Google's dominance in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets — stands independently. Together, the two rulings cover both Google's consumer search monopoly and its B2B advertising infrastructure monopoly.

What Changes

The remedies are structural, not financial. No fine equivalent to the scale of the monopoly was imposed. The practical effect is that Apple, Android OEMs, and wireless carriers are now free to strike default-search deals with Bing, DuckDuckGo, or future competitors without Google being able to outbid them through exclusive contracts. Whether that changes consumer behavior is a separate question.