Google dodges major breakup but must open its data vault

A federal judge handed Google a mixed verdict in its long-running antitrust battle, letting the tech giant keep its core businesses intact while forcing it to share its secret sauce with competitors, according to Reuters.

Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google can hang onto Chrome, Android and its massive deal with Apple that keeps Google as the go-to search engine on iPhones. But there’s a catch: the company now has to share its valuable search and advertising data with rivals to level the playing field.

The decision caps a five-year legal fight over Google’s iron grip on internet search. While the judge found Google guilty of running an illegal monopoly, he stopped short of breaking up the company, noting that AI upstarts like OpenAI are already starting to challenge Google’s dominance.

As a result, Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief, sending Alphabet’s stock soaring over 7%. Apple investors were also happy, given the company pockets around $20 billion yearly just to keep Google as the default iPhone search engine.

Even though having to share data could chip away at Google’s market power over time, experts say any real impact will be slow-moving as users gradually warm up to AI-powered alternatives. Google plans to fight the ruling and may take its case all the way to the Supreme Court. This isn’t the end of Google’s legal headaches, though the company is still battling claims about its app store and advertising practices as Washington continues its broader push to rein in Big Tech.

Meanwhile, the company has launched new features in its Google Translate app that could intensify competition with Duolingo, one of the most popular language-learning platforms. Another tool Google has introduced is Nano Banana, a free online tool that many describe as a Photoshop killer.