How Google turned into the landmark antitrust case that wasn’t
The judge’s measured penalties were cognizant of changing tech and respectful of legal precedent.
September 4, 2025 at 5:02 p.m. EDT
The Washington Post
By Adam Lashinsky
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/09/04/google-antitrust-case-penalty-decision/
What stood out about U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta’s opinion in what might have been a landmark antitrust case against Google is how reasonably he settled such a contentious matter. Here was a ruling in an adversarial scrap between the federal government and one of the country’s most important companies that actually made sense — written in reasoned, responsible and, dare I say, mature language.
The judge, who ruled last year that Google is an illegal monopoly, considered complicated arguments about what remedies he should impose, issued a measured response and praised both sides for their “professionalism and zealous advocacy.”
It's a sad commentary that such behavior passes for remarkable these days.
As for the substance, Mehta handed Google a considerable victory. The penalties the judge imposed — including that it share some data with competitors, no longer craft exclusive deals for placement of its search engine, and set up a technical committee to ensure its adherence to his ruling — will do little to hurt Google’s business.
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