According to court documents, Google filed a notice on Friday to appeal a federal judge’s decision that it had an unlawful monopoly on internet search.
In 2024, a US district judge ruled that the internet behemoth had a monopoly on text and search advertising due to exclusive distribution arrangements that made it the “default” alternative that consumers were likely to employ.
Google stated on Friday that the decision “ignored the reality that people use Google because they want to, not because they’re forced to.”
“The decision failed to account for the rapid pace of innovation and intense competition we face from established players and well-funded start-ups,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, wrote in a blog post.
In an attempt to level the playing field in online search, the firm urged District Court Judge Amit Mehta to halt an order in the lawsuit compelling Google to disclose data with its competitors.
Google said in a court filing that this order puts it at danger of losing trade secrets before its appeal is decided.
The order was enforced concurrently with Mehta’s rejection of a US government request for Google to sell its Chrome web browser.
At the time, he stated that Google had to provide search index data and user interaction information to “qualified competitors” so they could use it to enhance their offerings.
Google stated on Friday that it is not attempting to delay other criteria from Mehta’s earlier rulings, such as those pertaining to “privacy and security safeguards” for user data.While its appeal is pending, Google is willing to do everything except turn over its data or provide syndicated results and advertisements, despite its belief that these remedies are unjustified and should never have been enforced, the company stated.
