Google Asks Appeals Court to Throw Out Search Monopoly Ruling

Google filed a 100-page opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on May 22, 2026, asking judges to reverse the landmark 2024 ruling that branded it an illegal monopolist in online search and to vacate the remedies that took effect in February.nytimes +1 The company told the court that Judge Amit P. Mehta committed "as basic an error of antitrust law as a court can make" and that Google "developed a superior search engine through hard work, bold innovation and shrewd business decisions."nytimes +1

A challenge to both liability and remedies

The appeal targets every layer of the case, including the August 2024 finding that Google's default-search deals with Apple, Mozilla and Android device makers were anticompetitive, and the September 2025 remedies order that forces Google to share parts of its search index and user-interaction data with rivals.theverge +1 Google argues the agreements contained no express exclusivity provision and left browser-makers free to promote competing engines, citing court documents showing Apple sells homepage placement to Bing and Yahoo even while keeping Google as Safari's default.ppc The Apple deal alone was estimated at roughly $20 billion in 2022, and the broader default-payment universe at about $26 billion a year.ppc

The generative AI flashpoint

The brief reserves its sharpest objection for the part of Mehta's order that lets generative AI companies qualify as "Qualified Competitors" entitled to Google's data.theverge +1 Google calls that "pure prospective regulatory policymaking," arguing AI products "did not even exist" during the conduct at issue and that one rival, OpenAI, already holds about 85% share of that emerging market.ppc Mehta had ordered Google to syndicate search results and ads to competitors for five years and to disclose its RankEmbed model, remedies the company says could include chatbots like ChatGPT.reuters +1

What comes next

The Justice Department and a coalition of states are pursuing their own cross-appeal, arguing Mehta should have gone further and ordered a sale of Chrome — relief the judge rejected last September.theverge DOJ is expected to file its responsive brief in July, with oral argument not yet scheduled.reuters If Google loses at the D.C. Circuit, the case could climb to the Supreme Court, leaving the February 2026 remedies — and roughly $26 billion in annual distribution payments — in force while the appeal grinds on.reuters +1

Image: rcfp.org