Google Hit With Major Blow As Judge Forces Annual Renegotiation Of Apple And Samsung Default Deals: Report

• While Google can continue to offer iPhone maker Apple its products and pay Samsung for default placement, these contracts must now be renegotiated annually.
• However, the Justice Department can seek to appeal Mehta’s remedy decision.
• The origin of the case is an antitrust lawsuit filed by the DOJ against Google in 2020, alleging a search monopoly.

Federal judge Amit Mehta reportedly ruled on Friday in Washington that Alphabet Inc’s Google must renegotiate any contract to make its search engine or artificial intelligence app the default for smartphones and other devices every year.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Mehta sided with the U.S. Justice Department on the one year limitation in his final ruling on changes the search giant must make in the wake of a ruling that it illegally monopolized online search.

While Google can continue to offer iPhone maker Apple its products and pay Samsung for default placement, these contracts must now be renegotiated annually. The yearly negotiation is aimed at giving rivals a chance to compete with the bigshot, the report noted.

Long Drawn Legal Battle

Earlier this year, Mehta had rejected the Justice Department’s request that Google be forced to sell its browser Chrome. He instead ordered the Sundar Pichai-led company to share some search data about specific search index and user interaction, but not advertising data with third parties. He also forbade Google from entering into exclusive contracts with companies to make it the exclusive search engine. The decision on Friday expands on the prior ruling, Bloomberg said. However, the Justice Department can seek to appeal Mehta’s remedy decision.

The origin of the case is an antitrust lawsuit filed by the D0J against Google in 2020, alleging a search monopoly, and Judge Mehta ruled in the Justice Department's favor in August 2024. The remedies trial began in April.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

GOOG stock closed up 1% on Friday but fell about 0.4% after hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GOOG stayed within the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

GOOG stock has gained 69% this year and nearly 85% over the past 12 months. 

Also See: Tesla Faces Tough Questions From US Regulator As FSD Probe Widens With More Complaints And Incident Reports

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