The US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Tuesday, in its ongoing antitrust battle, that Google is barred from entering exclusionary contracts relating to generative AI or preloading Google Search on applications.

The court found that Google will not be required to divest Chrome or Android devices, which are part of the Google “ecosystem.” However, they will be required to share “search index and user-interaction data” and offer text advertisement services to competitors. The court decided to find a balance by “unwinding” the monopoly and allowing for competition and technological innovation.

The court, in deciding appropriate remedies for Google’s violation of section 2 of the Sherman Act by creating a monopoly, must “effectively pry open to competition a market that has been closed” by a monopolist’s “illegal restraints.” The Sherman Act states that:

Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

The markets that Google has monopolized include search engines and generative AI, which is embedded in the Google Search function, through “AI Overviews.” AI Overviews “will take the search results that come back and use a[n] [LLM] to produce a summary of those results.”

Google has been a repeat Sherman Act offender, with the antitrust suit about its Google Search Engine and Android in-app distribution and billing services. Google was also fined by the Australian antitrust watchdog for its search engine in August 2025.