As of early November 2026, Google has been found to have illegally maintained a monopoly in online search, but the fixes are narrower than the government wanted. Judge Amit Mehta did not order Google to sell Chrome or Android, and he did not ban Google from paying Apple and others to be the default search engine. Instead, he banned exclusive default deals, capped those deals at one year, and ordered Google to share some search data and results with qualified rivals under court supervision.
Both sides have appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the main briefing finished when the government filed its last brief on October 29, 2026. Both sides asked the court to hear argument as early as December 9, but no argument date had been set as of early November 2026. For you, the practical change so far is small: Google is still the default on most phones and browsers, and you can switch it yourself in under a minute. Here is what the court decided, what is still in play, and how to change your defaults.
Key takeaways
- In August 2024 a federal judge ruled that Google is a monopolist in general search and kept that position partly through default-placement deals.
- The September 2025 remedies ruling and the December 5, 2025 final judgment rejected a forced sale of Chrome and a ban on default payments.
- Google can no longer sign exclusive deals for Search, Chrome, Assistant or the Gemini app, and default contracts must end within one year.
- Google appealed in January 2026; the Justice Department and states cross-appealed, asking the appeals court to send the payment-ban question back to Judge Mehta. Data sharing is still being set up.
- You can change the default search engine on iPhone, Mac, Android and Chrome yourself; the steps are below.
What happened in the Google search antitrust case?
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Google on October 20, 2020, and a group of states filed a parallel case that was later combined with it. The core claim was simple: Google paid browser makers, phone makers and wireless carriers to make Google Search the default, and those deals locked rivals out of the places where most searches start.
After a trial that opened in fall 2023, Judge Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in August 2024 that Google had broken Section 2 of the Sherman Act. In the words the Justice Department later highlighted, "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly." Evidence at trial showed Google paid about $26.3 billion in 2021 for default placement across platforms.
The judge then held a separate remedies trial from April to May 2025. He issued his remedies opinion on September 2, 2025, and entered the final judgment, the binding list of what Google must and must not do, on December 5, 2025.
- Oct 20, 2020
Justice Department files its search monopoly lawsuit. - Fall 2023
Liability trial opens in Washington, D.C. - Aug 2024
Judge Mehta rules Google illegally maintained a search monopoly. - Mar 7, 2025
Government files revised remedy plan, including a forced sale of Chrome. - Apr to May 2025
Remedies trial and closing arguments. - Sep 2, 2025
Remedies opinion: no Chrome or Android sale; exclusive deals banned; data sharing ordered. - Dec 5, 2025
Final judgment entered, including the one-year cap on default contracts. - Jan 16, 2026
Google files notice of appeal and asks to pause data-sharing and syndication duties. - Early Feb 2026
Justice Department and states file their own appeal. - May 7, 2026
Judge denies Google's pause request as premature; Google may renew it later. - May 22, 2026
Google files its opening brief in the D.C. Circuit. - Jul 28, 2026
Government files its brief, asking the court to send the payment-ban question back to Judge Mehta. - Late Sep 2026
Google files its reply brief. - Oct 29, 2026
Government files its final reply brief. Both sides have asked for argument as early as Dec 9; no date set as of early November 2026.
What did the court order, and what did it reject?
The government asked for far more than it got. Its revised plan from March 2025 would have forced Google to sell Chrome, banned payments for default placement entirely, and put Android up for sale if Google did not comply. Judge Mehta said selling Chrome was a poor fit for a case about distribution contracts, and he declined to stop the payments, partly because cutting them off could leave partners without that revenue or push them toward lower-quality search engines.
| Remedy | Government proposed (Mar 2025) | Court ordered (Sep and Dec 2025) | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell Chrome | Yes | No | Chrome stays a Google product with the same settings. |
| Sell Android | Only if Google failed to comply | No | No change to how Android phones work. |
| Payments for default placement | Banned | Allowed, but no exclusivity and each contract must end within one year | Google will likely stay the default on many devices, but partners can revisit the deal every year. |
| Exclusive distribution deals | Banned | Banned for Search, Chrome, Assistant and the Gemini app | Phone makers and browsers can preload or promote rival search and AI apps alongside Google. |
| Sharing search data | Search and ad data for a decade | Some search index and user-interaction data for qualified competitors, with privacy safeguards; not ads data | Smaller search engines may get better over time; your data is meant to be protected by court-set safeguards. |
| Syndication | Search text ads syndication | Search results and search text ads syndication for qualified competitors | Rival search apps may show results partly powered by Google. |
| Oversight | Technical committee | Five-member Technical Committee; judgment runs six years | Little you will notice directly; it decides who qualifies and checks compliance. |
Sources: The Register on the March 2025 revised proposal; DOJ press release (Sept 2, 2025); Plaintiffs' second status report (Sept 17, 2026); Gigazine summary of the Dec 5, 2025 judgment. Accessed October 2026.
The exclusivity ban is broader than it sounds. According to the Justice Department's summary, Google also may not tie the licensing of one of its apps to placement of another, link revenue-share payments for one app to placement of a different one, or require a partner to keep its products in place for more than a year to get paid. Partners must remain free to distribute other search engines, browsers and generative AI products at the same time.
Why does it matter that the remedies are about defaults?
Most people never change a default. When you type into the address bar of Safari on an iPhone or Chrome on an Android phone, the browser sends the query to whichever engine is set as the default, and for most people that is Google. The court found that this is why the placement deals were so valuable: they decide where a huge share of searches start, before you make any choice at all.
That also explains why Google pays so much. A default slot delivers search traffic, and search traffic delivers ad revenue that Google shares with the partner. Apple and Mozilla told the court they chose Google because they consider it the best search engine, and Google repeats that point in its appeal. The government argues that the payments themselves keep rivals from ever getting enough users to improve.
The newer front is AI. The final judgment covers the Gemini app as well as Search, and the government's July 2026 brief warns that generative AI could challenge Google only if Google cannot use its search profits to shut that window. Google, for its part, argues that AI companies that did not exist during the conduct in question should not benefit from the data-sharing rules. If you are still sorting out how chatbots differ from search engines, see our plain-English guide to generative AI.
Where does the appeal stand in October 2026?
Google filed its notice of appeal on January 16, 2026. In a company blog post, its vice president of regulatory affairs said the ruling ignored that people choose Google and that the company faces strong competition. Google asked Judge Mehta to pause only the data-sharing and syndication duties while the appeal runs, arguing they put user privacy and trade secrets at risk.
The judge said no on May 7, 2026, calling the request premature because key details, such as license terms, privacy safeguards and which companies qualify, were not yet settled. Google can ask again later.
In the D.C. Circuit, Google wants the whole monopoly finding thrown out. Its May 2026 brief argues that its deals were not exclusive and that winning by building a better product is not illegal. The Justice Department and states want the liability finding upheld and are asking the appeals court to send the payment question back to Judge Mehta. Notably, they did not appeal his refusal to order a Chrome sale. Google answered in late September 2026, the government filed its final reply on October 29, and as of early November 2026 no oral argument date had been set.
Meanwhile, the remedies are moving forward in the trial court. The Technical Committee now has all five members. On October 13, 2026, the plaintiffs filed a recommended template contract for search and search text ads syndication, and a template license for sharing the search index and user data was due by October 27, 2026, according to the DOJ case page and the plaintiffs' September 2026 status report. Once privacy and security safeguards are set, Google has six months to put them in place. Court filings move quickly, so check the DOJ case page for the latest documents.
What does this mean for you right now?
Very little changes on your screen yet. Google remains the out-of-the-box default in Safari and on most Android phones, because the court allowed the payments to continue. What has changed is the leverage: device makers and browsers can now promote other search engines and AI assistants next to Google without breaking their contracts, and they get a chance to renegotiate every year.
Over the next few years you may see rival search apps that are noticeably better, because they can license some of Google's index and results. That depends on companies qualifying, on the safeguards and on the appeal, so treat it as a possibility, not a promise. If you want a different engine today, you do not need to wait for any court.
How do you change your default search engine?
These steps match Apple's and Google's support pages as of October 2026. Changing the browser default does not delete your Google account or your history; for that, use the controls in our complete guide to privacy settings.
- iPhone (iOS 26 and iOS 27): open the Settings app, tap Search, then tap Search Engine and choose the one you want. This sets the engine Safari uses.
- Mac (Safari): in Safari, choose Safari > Settings, click Search, and pick a Search engine. You can set a separate Private Browsing search engine on the same screen.
- Chrome on a computer: click the three-dot menu, choose Settings, then Search engine, click Change and select your engine.
- Chrome on Android: open Chrome, tap the three-dot More menu, tap Settings, then under Basics tap Search engine and choose one.
- Chrome on iPhone or iPad: open Chrome, tap More, then Settings, then Search engine, and pick one.
- Check it worked: type a test word in the address bar and confirm the results page belongs to the engine you picked.
Two quirks. Chrome only lists engines you have visited recently plus a built-in set, so if yours is missing, visit its site once and look again. And Google says Gemini cannot be set as Chrome's default search engine. For a broader look at browsers built around privacy, see our browser privacy roundup, and for other settings hiding on your phone, our guide to built-in phone features.
When switching your search engine is not the right move
Switching is easy to undo, but it is not always worth it. If you rely on features tied to your Google account, such as personalized results or a search history you use often, a new engine may feel worse for local and shopping queries until you learn its strengths.
Changing the default also does not stop Google from collecting data through other products you use, such as Android, YouTube, Maps or Gmail. Privacy depends on account settings, not only the search box. And the ruling itself has limits: it covers search distribution, not Google's separate advertising technology case or its app store disputes, and the appeals court could still change the outcome in either direction.
What happens next?
Watch two tracks. In the trial court, the template licenses for syndication and data sharing go to Judge Mehta for approval, and the Technical Committee will start deciding which companies qualify as competitors. In the appeals court, the next step is a date for oral argument. Silicon UK reported in February 2026 that a decision could take about a year after the appeals were filed, based on past timelines, but no court has set a deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google being forced to sell Chrome?
No. Judge Mehta rejected a forced sale of Chrome in September 2025, saying it was a poor fit for a case about distribution contracts. The government did not appeal that part of the decision, so a Chrome sale is effectively off the table in this case.
Why does Google pay Apple to be the default?
Being the default in Safari means most iPhone searches go to Google, and Google earns ad revenue from them that it shares with Apple. Trial evidence showed Google paid about $26.3 billion in 2021 for default placement across all its partners. The court allowed these payments to continue but banned exclusivity and capped each contract at one year.
How do I change my default search engine?
On iPhone running iOS 26 or 27, go to Settings, tap Search, then Search Engine. In Chrome on any device, open Settings and choose Search engine. The full steps for each platform are in the box above.
Will the appeal change anything soon?
Probably not in 2026. The D.C. Circuit had not set an argument date as of early November 2026, and the court-ordered remedies are still being set up in the meantime. A ruling could keep, expand or undo parts of the remedies.
Does the case affect AI assistants like Gemini?
Yes, in one specific way. Google may not sign exclusive deals for its Gemini app, and partners must be free to offer rival AI apps. Google has argued on appeal that AI companies should not benefit from the data-sharing rules.
Sources
- U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division: U.S. and Plaintiff States v. Google LLC case page (accessed October 2026)
- U.S. DOJ: Department of Justice Wins Significant Remedies Against Google (Sept 2, 2025) (accessed October 2026)
- Plaintiffs' Second Status Report on Compliance with the Final Judgment (Sept 17, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- Google: Why we're appealing the DOJ Search distribution case (Jan 16, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- Courthouse News: Google urges D.C. Circuit to overturn search monopoly remedies (May 22, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- Courthouse News: DOJ urges D.C. Circuit to beef up remedies in Google monopoly ruling (July 29, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- MediaPost: Judge won't immediately pause Google antitrust order (May 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- MediaPost: Google pushes court to scuttle search monopoly verdict (Oct 2, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- Silicon UK: DOJ and states appeal Google search ruling (Feb 4, 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- The Register: DOJ revised proposal still seeks Chrome sale (Mar 10, 2025) (accessed October 2026)
- Gigazine: Default search contracts limited to one year (Dec 8, 2025) (accessed October 2026)
- Bloomberg Law: Google paid $26.3 billion to be default search engine in 2021 (accessed October 2026)
- Apple Support: Change your default search engine on iPhone (accessed October 2026)
- Apple Support: Change Search settings in Safari on Mac (accessed October 2026)
- Google Chrome Help: Set your default search engine (accessed October 2026)
- Law360: DOJ, Google want D.C. Circuit priority for search appeal (Oct 5, 2026) (accessed November 2026)
Top image: "Prettyman United States Courthouse (53840039516)" by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized). Charts and tables by Thank You Robot.
0 Comments