A U.S. judge ruled that Google does not need to divest its Chrome browser but must share search data with competitors
A U.S. judge ruled that Google does not need to divest its Chrome browser and Android system, but must share search data with competitors, marking a victory for Google in the antitrust case. This ruling led to a 7.8% increase in Alphabet's stock price in after-hours trading. Analysts pointed out that data sharing will increase competitive risks, but will not affect Google's market position in the short term. Google expressed concerns about this and is assessing the impact of the ruling. This ruling also relieved competitors such as Apple
Reuters, September 2 - A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected the U.S. government's request for Alphabet (GOOGL.O) to divest its Chrome browser and Android operating system, marking a key victory for Google in this antitrust case. However, the judge also ordered Google to share data with competitors to open up competition in the online search space.
As a result of this news, Alphabet's stock surged 7.8% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
While sharing data with competitors will strengthen their rivals in Google's dominant advertising business, the lack of a requirement to divest the Chrome browser and Android system alleviated a major concern for investors, who view these two segments as core to Google's overall business.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Deepak Mathivanan stated that the data-sharing requirement poses competitive risks for Google, but these will not materialize immediately. "Consumers will need a long time to adapt to these new experiences."
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In response to the judge's data-sharing requirement, Google stated, "We are concerned that these requirements could impact our users and their privacy, and we are carefully evaluating the ruling."
This ruling has relieved Apple (AAPL.O) and other device and web browser providers, as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta indicated that they can continue to receive a share of advertising revenue generated from searches conducted on their devices via Google.
However, this ruling makes it easier for device manufacturers and other vendors that set Google Search as the default option to load applications developed by Google's competitors
