Judge in Google antitrust trial presses DOJ on AI's role in future competition
The federal judge who will decide how to fix Google's illegal online search monopoly pressed for details on Friday about whether the tech giant's foray into artificial intelligence will further hurt its rivals.
US District Judge Amit Mehta — who labeled Google a 'monopolist' in a separate trial that wrapped up last year — dug into the issue of whether court-ordered limits on AI-powered search would be effective as closing arguments in the seven-week remedy trial wrapped up in Washington court.
'Does the government believe that there is a market for a new search engine to emerge as we think of it today?' Mehta asked, according to Bloomberg. 'Do you think somebody is going to come off the sidelines and build a new general search engine in light of what we are now seeing happen in the AI space?'
DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist responded that the 'short answer is yes' while describing so-called generative AI as the new 'gateway to search' for online users.
'We do believe that these remedies that will be proposed will allow that opportunity to occur,' Dahlquist said. 'The reason we are so focused on gen AI, and the reason you heard a lot of evidence about it, is because that is the new search access point.'
The DOJ has asked Mehta to force Google to sell off its Chrome web browser and ensure it cannot use its AI tools to further entrench its illegal monopoly over the industry – among other proposed fixes.
Google has recently overhauled its search product with controversial 'AI Overviews,' or automated summaries to user prompts that have replaced traditional 'blue links' at the top of results.
Mehta has said he will make a final decision by August.
The judge's focus on potential AI-related remedies during closing arguments wasn't a surprise, given the fact that the DOJ has pushed for forward-looking fixes since first outlining its proposal last fall.
'DOJ took a risk and made it the centerpiece of its remedy package,' said Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at TD Cowen. 'That really caught investors' attention last November and made it front burner issue for Google holders. Today, the judge is following DOJ down this AI path to see whether he can actually get there on the evidence and legal precedent.'
Aside from a divestment of Chrome and AI-focused remedies, the DOJ has argued that Google should no longer be allowed to pay companies like Apple to ensure its search engine is set as the default option on most smartphones.
The feds also want to force Google to share search data with rivals. Their proposal also suggests requiring Google to sell off its Android operating system if initial remedies prove ineffective.
Google has pushed back, arguing the DOJ's proposals go far beyond the judge's initial ruling and would 'break these platforms.'
The company has gone as far as to suggest that a forced breakup would jeopardize US national security and allow China to beat the US in the race to build advanced AI.
Google also argued that it faces fierce competition from other AI-powered platforms, such as those offered by Sam Altman's OpenAI.
During closing arguments, Google attorney John Schmidtlein said the company has already addressed AI-related search concerns by no longer pursuing exclusivity deals with wireless carriers and smartphone makers, including Samsung.
However, Mehta expressed skepticism about Google's push for limited remedies focused on past misdeeds.
'It seems to me that to simply say, 'look, just open up the avenues of distribution,' without providing any further remedies that are forward-looking and that would allow competitors to actually be rivals here, sells the remedy portion of this short,' Mehta said at one point during Friday's hearing.
Schmidtlein pushed back, declaring that there was 'no evidence that gen AI products have been harmed by any of the conduct issue in this case.'
Earlier in the remedy trial, an OpenAI executive said that the company would be interested in acquiring Chrome if it were up for sale. The executive also acknowledged that OpenAI would benefit if it had access to Google search data.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ethereum Treasury Firm SharpLink Gaming Plunges 70% – But There May Be a Twist
SharpLink Gaming (SBET), a Nasdaq-listed company that is pursuing an ether ETH treasury strategy, tumbled 70% on Thursday in after-hours trading following a fresh filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company submitted an S-3ASR registration statement, enabling the resale of up to 58,699,760 shares related to its private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing. The Thursday filing allows more than 100 shareholders in the PIPE round to sell their shares, effectively flooding the market and triggering a post-close sell-off, Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, a publicly-traded firm that's pursuing crypto reserve strategy, explained in an X post and an interview with CoinDesk. The company raised $450 million earlier this month through a PIPE round from a wide range of investors, including ConsenSys, Galaxy, and Pantera Capital, to acquire ETH for its treasury. Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin also joined the firm as board chairman. However, there may be a larger strategy behind the latest move. Allen said in an X post that he thinks the company may have quietly raised up to $1 billion to buy more ETH using an at-the-market (ATM) offering that was previously announced in a May 30 SEC filing. "If they played cards right, they would expect a surprise PR tomorrow with $1B of ETH purchases, which could light the match to reignite the stock," he said. ETH is down 4.1% over the past 24 hours at around $2,650 as bitcoin and the broader crypto markets slid.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Getty Images Stock Was Soaring This Week
A crucial shareholder vote ratified the company's pending merger. It aims to fuse with Shutterstock in a cash-and-stock deal. 10 stocks we like better than Getty Images › Over the past few days, it hasn't been hard to imagine reaping gains on photography services provider Getty Images (NYSE: GETY). After all, the company's stock was a hot item on the market, thanks to a well-received deal to merge with a peer. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as of late Thursday afternoon, the shares were up by more than 13% week to date. On Tuesday, photo-sharing site operator Shutterstock announced its shareholders had approved -- by a large majority -- their company's pending merger with Getty Images. The vote was roughly 82% in favor of the move. In its press release, Shutterstock wrote that "The combined company will be well-positioned to meet the ever-changing needs of customers through combined investment in content creation, event coverage, and product and technology innovation." The cash-and-stock deal was originally agreed at the start of this year, and although it's been described as a "merger of equals," the Getty Images name will be retained for the combined entity. Also, current Getty Images stockholders will hold nearly 55% of the new business, according to rough calculations. Not that many investors in either company seem to mind -- Shutterstock's equity also popped on news of that shareholder vote. Subsequent to the Shutterstock poll, several insiders in both companies sold off some equity holdings as if to validate the merger and its price. Among these individuals was Getty Images's senior vice president of e-commerce, Daine Weston, who unloaded some of his company's class A common stock, and Shutterstock director Deirdre Bagley, with a sale of 9,700 restricted stock units. Before you buy stock in Getty Images, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Getty Images wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $657,871!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $875,479!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 998% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Shutterstock. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Getty Images Stock Was Soaring This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Fox News
7 minutes ago
- Fox News
GOP Senator Ron Johnson says he's 'trying to force reality' on DC
When it comes to the nation's federal government, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is "not a fan." He believes that it "causes or exacerbates more problems than it actually solves," telling Fox News Digital during an interview on Wednesday that the bulk of his oversight is "to expose how awful government is" in order to obtain "public support for reducing it, limiting its size, limiting its cost, limiting its influence over our lives." "As our federal government grows, our freedoms recede," he said. "You see what the federal government does, how it wastes money." The national debt has ballooned to the eye-watering sum of more than $36 trillion, with lawmakers and presidents from both parties presiding over the deficit spending that has led the nation to this point. Johnson said he's "trying to force reality" upon everyone in the nation's capital, regardless of whether they want to face that reality. He said for decades the nation has been suffering a "chronic debt crisis," illustrating the dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar by noting that "the dollar you held back in 1998 is now only worth $0.51 cents," while "a dollar you held in … 2019 is only worth $0.80 cents." The senator referred to inflation as "the silent tax." But he's certainly not staying silent. Johnson indicated that the elected leaders are mortgaging the future of American children, but "don't talk about it." "I'm forcing everybody to look at it," he said, noting that his "primary role" is to force "acknowledgment of our problem." But as keenly as Johnson advocates the idea of slashing the sprawling tentacles of the massive federal bureaucracy, right now he's just pushing to pare spending down to pre-pandemic levels. The conservative fiscal hawk has been making headlines for taking a stand against the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cleared the GOP-controlled House of Representatives last month. But Johnson told Fox News Digital that he actually likes a lot of the measure. "I'm really not critical of the bill as far as it goes," Johnson explained, noting that he's a "big supporter" of much of what's in it, though he noted that has not read all of it — the measure is more than 1,000 pages long. "My main beef is it just doesn't go far enough," he said, noting that after the COVID-19 pandemic Democrats failed to return to pre-COVID spending and deficit levels. The Congressional Budget Office's estimated budgetary impact for the measure indicates that the net effect on the deficit would be a more than $2.4 trillion increase over the fiscal years 2025-2034. But White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has said the measure would decrease deficits. "The bill REDUCES deficits by $1.4 trillion over ten years when you adjust for CBO's one big gimmick--not using a realistic current policy baseline. It includes $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, the most in history. If you care about deficits and debt, this bill dramatically improves the fiscal picture," Vought said in a post on X. Johnson also noted during the interview that there has not been a "reckoning" regarding the "abuse" at all levels of government during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that he does not refer to the COVID-19 jab as a vaccine. Instead, he referred to it as an "injection," asserting that it is "not a vaccine," and that it caused injuries and death. The senator said that he thinks the shots should have "black box warnings." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states that the "CDC recommends a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for most adults ages 18 and older" and claims that the "vaccine helps protect you from severe illness, hospitalization, and death." Johnson, who has served in the Senate since 2011 and won election to a third term in 2022, said he'd prefer not to seek another term in office. "I don't covet this job," he said, noting that he wants to leverage his post to help save America and aid those who are "ignored by the system." While he's not ruling out another run, Johnson, who turned 70-years-old earlier this year, said he'd "be happy" to return to Oshkosh and "live a nice, peaceful life."
