At the latest hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Google and its legal team are working to finalize the remedies for Judge Amit Mehta's previous ruling that Google illegally monopolized the search market. Although the court order would require Google to scale back its aggressive strategies that push out competitors in search distribution channels, Google is still trying hard to ensure that the new restrictions do not affect its expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) business.
According to Bloomberg, Google attorney John Schmidtlein told Judge Mehta in court on Wednesday that Google should not be prohibited from bundling its Gemini AI application with other Google apps such as YouTube and Google Maps.
Judge's Concerns and Google's Rebuttal
However, Judge Mehta expressed concerns about this. He worried that requiring manufacturers to install Gemini AI in order to access Google Maps and YouTube would give Google an "advantage" in the Gemini market, which is similar to what Judge Mehta previously found Google did in the search market.
In terms of remedies, although Mehta rejected some of the Department of Justice's more radical proposals (such as divesting the Chrome browser), he adopted others, including requiring Google to share search information with competitors and prohibit Google from signing exclusive distribution contracts for certain products.
Facing potential AI restrictions, Google attorney Schmidtlein argued that the AI market is different from the search market. He said that once the remedies are set, the judge should not impose restrictions on the emerging AI market. He compared the proposed Gemini bundle to Microsoft's use of CoPilot in its Office products, emphasizing that it is a common business practice.
Schmidtlein insisted in court that Google Maps and YouTube are not "monopoly products", and in the AI market, "Google has shown no indication so far of having achieved a monopoly or market power."
Currently, the court is still finalizing the details of the remedies, and whether Google's bundling strategy in the AI field will be restricted has become a major focus of this hearing.
