A US federal court has ruled that Google does not have to sell the Chrome browser as part of an antitrust case, but the company must change some of its business practices, Engadget reports.
Judge Amit Mehta rejected the Justice Department's request to force the sale of Chrome and possibly abandon Android, calling it "excessive",
The court's ruling bars Google from entering into exclusive distribution agreements for search, Google Assistant, Gemini and Chrome, and from requiring device manufacturers to pre-install its apps to access the Play Store. The company will be able to continue paying partners, including Apple, to include search and other services by default, as a complete ban, the court said, could harm the market and consumers.
Google was also ordered to share some of its search data with "qualified competitors" to reduce the advantage it gained through exclusive deals, but without sharing advertising data. The company said the decision took into account changes in the industry, including the development of AI, but expressed concerns about the impact of the new requirements on users and data privacy.
The company had planned to appeal the previous court ruling, but was waiting for the final verdict in the case. Now Google says it is largely satisfied with the decision, but the requirement to "share search data" is a concern for the company.