Google Appeals Federal Ruling on Search Monopoly

Google filed its appeal Friday of a federal ruling that found the company illegally maintained a search monopoly. The company argues the decision exceeded legal limits and asks the court to overturn both the August 2024 liability finding and the September 2025 remedies order.

The appeal brief states that Google prevailed in the marketplace because users and partners chose its services for superior results. It contends that distribution agreements with browser and device makers were not anticompetitive.

VP of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said the company is asking the court to overturn the decision because partners and users have many options and choose Google for the best results. The filing criticizes the remedies as an extraordinary step that would require Google to boost competitors through data transfer and syndication.

The company also objects to sharing data with generative AI companies that did not exist during the period covered by the case. It argues these firms are already succeeding without needing access to its data.

U.S. and a coalition of states that joined the lawsuit are also appealing the remedies decision. They argue that Judge Amit Mehta should have gone further, including ordering the sale of Google's Chrome browser. Mehta declined to grant several government requests for broader changes. , nearly five years after the initial complaint was filed.