Google Scores Legal Victory, Alphabet Gains $230 Billion

Tech News:Google's parent company, Alphabet, has won a big victory in a historic antitrust case. After this decision, the company's shares saw a tremendous jump. Alphabet's shares rose more than 10% in a week and the company's market value increased by $230 billion (about ₹19 lakh crore). This boom came when US District Judge Amit Mehta, in a historic decision on September 2, rejected the Department of Justice's (DOJ) demand to break up Google (divestiture). This decision brought a big relief to Google, as the DOJ wanted the company to separate major business parts like the Chrome browser and the Android operating system.

'DOJ's demand is excessive'

Last year, Judge Mehta found Google guilty of maintaining an illegal monopoly in the Internet search market. But this time in his decision, he said that DOJ's request to break up Google is an "overreach." "Google is not required to sell the Chrome browser, nor will any forced divestment of the Android operating system be required," Judge Mehta said. "DOJ has overreached by demanding separation of these key assets, as Google has not used them for any illegal restriction."

Investors were excited immediately after this decision. Alphabet's shares jumped 8% on Tuesday and increased more than 10% in a week. Due to this, the combined market cap of the eight big companies of the US tech sector reached $21 trillion. In just one week, these companies registered a total increase of $420 billion.

Apple also got a big benefit

This decision benefited not only Google but Apple as well. The rejection of DOJ's proposal means that Apple and Google's multi-billion dollar search engine agreement will remain intact. Under the agreement, Google remains the default search engine on the iPhone and other Apple devices. As a result, Apple's stock also rose 3.2%. Analysts at Wedbush Securities said the decision was a "huge burden lifted" for Google and a "dark cloud cleared" for Apple. They also indicated that the decision could open the way for future artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships between the two companies, which could also include Google's Gemini AI models.

Google and DOJ's response

Google welcomed the decision in a blog post and said that it is still concerned about how the new court requirements can affect the privacy of users. At the same time, Doj said in a press release that this decision would be done to prevent Google from adopting the same monopoly strategies in the future AI (GENAI) market as it had made in the search market.

Final stage of the case

This historical antitrust trial began in September 2023. Judge Mehta has ordered both sides to meet by September 10 and finalize the final judgment. This will bring the case to its final stage and conclude one of the most important antitrust cases in American history. For Google, this decision is not only a legal victory but also an opportunity to strengthen its hold in the market. With this, Google will now be able to focus on expanding its AI business, while Apple and other tech companies will also continue to benefit from this stability. This decision is a signal to the tech sector that regulatory intervention can bring big changes, but it will not be easy to break up giant companies like Google.