GoKawiil
Tech News
A court has dismissed lawsuits brought by Chegg and Penske that accused Google of monopolistic practices in AI search technology. The judge's ruling clears Google of these allegations, which aimed to challenge its market dominance. The cases had sought to address concerns over competitive fairness in AI-driven search services.
US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in Google's favor in separate antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation, which alleged AI Overviews cut their website traffic and revenue. Mehta found the publishers' claims rested on an unfulfilled 'expectation' of search traffic rather than any actual agreement with Google, and dismissed the suits.
US District Judge Amit Mehta threw out separate antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media against Google, both alleging that AI Overviews and related features harmed their website traffic. Mehta found that Google had no formal agreement with either company to send them search traffic, so antitrust law did not apply to the dispute. The same judge previously ruled against Google in the DOJ's broader search antitrust case, though penalties there were lighter than prosecutors sought.
US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed lawsuits from Penske Media Corporation and Chegg that accused Google of using AI Overviews to siphon traffic from their sites and harm ad revenue. Mehta ruled both companies failed to show Google violated antitrust law, stating that an expectation of search traffic is not an agreement Google broke.
US District Judge Amit Mehta threw out antitrust lawsuits from Chegg and Penske Media Corporation, which had accused Google of forcing publishers to supply free content for AI Overviews under threat of losing search visibility. Mehta ruled the publishers' claims didn't meet the legal standard for antitrust violations, saying an expectation of referral traffic is not a binding agreement.