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The federal judge who will decide how to fix Google’s illegal online search monopoly pressed for details on Friday about whether the tech giant’s foray into artificial intelligence will further hurt its rivals.
US District Judge Amit Mehta — who labeled Google a “monopolist” in a separate trial that wrapped up last year — dug into the issue of whether court-ordered limits on AI-powered search would be effective as closing arguments in the seven-week remedy trial wrapped up in Washington court.
“Does the government believe that there is a market for a new search engine to emerge as we think of it today?” Mehta asked, according to Bloomberg. “Do you think somebody is going to come off the sidelines and build a new general search engine in light of what we are now seeing happen in the AI space?”
DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist responded that the “short answer is yes” while describing so-called generative AI as the new “gateway to search” for online users.
“We do believe that these remedies that will be proposed will allow that opportunity to occur,” Dahlquist said. “The reason we are so focused on gen AI, and the reason you heard a lot of evidence about it, is because that is the new search access point.”
The DOJ has asked Mehta to force Google to sell off its Chrome web browser and ensure it cannot use its AI tools to further entrench its illegal monopoly over the industry – among other proposed fixes.
Google has recently overhauled its search product with controversial “AI Overviews,” or automated summaries to user prompts that have replaced traditional “blue links” at the top of results.
Mehta has said he will make a final decision by August.
The judge’s focus on potential AI-related remedies during closing arguments wasn’t a surprise, given the fact that the DOJ has pushed for forward-looking fixes since first outlining its proposal last fall.
“DOJ took a risk and made it the centerpiece of its remedy package,” said Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at TD Cowen. “That really caught investors’ attention last November and made it front burner issue for Google holders. Today, the judge is following DOJ down this AI path to see whether he can actually get there on the evidence and legal precedent.”
Aside from a divestment of Chrome and AI-focused remedies, the DOJ has argued that Google should no longer be allowed to pay companies like Apple to ensure its search engine is set as the default option on most smartphones.
The feds also want to force Google to share search data with rivals. Their proposal also suggests requiring Google to sell off its Android operating system if initial remedies prove ineffective.
Google has pushed back, arguing the DOJ’s proposals go far beyond the judge’s initial ruling and would “break these platforms.”
The company has gone as far as to suggest that a forced breakup would jeopardize US national security and allow China to beat the US in the race to build advanced AI.
Google also argued that it faces fierce competition from other AI-powered platforms, such as those offered by Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
During closing arguments, Google attorney John Schmidtlein said the company has already addressed AI-related search concerns by no longer pursuing exclusivity deals with wireless carriers and smartphone makers, including Samsung.
However, Mehta expressed skepticism about Google’s push for limited remedies focused on past misdeeds.
“It seems to me that to simply say, ‘look, just open up the avenues of distribution,’ without providing any further remedies that are forward-looking and that would allow competitors to actually be rivals here, sells the remedy portion of this short,” Mehta said at one point during Friday’s hearing.
Schmidtlein pushed back, declaring that there was “no evidence that gen AI products have been harmed by any of the conduct issue in this case.”
Earlier in the remedy trial, an OpenAI executive said that the company would be interested in acquiring Chrome if it were up for sale. The executive also acknowledged that OpenAI would benefit if it had access to Google search data.