Attorney General Ellison submits final proposed fix for ending Google’s illegal search-engine monopoly

Joins bipartisan coalition of AGs and USDOJ in making final ask to court to prohibit Google from paying to be default search engine, require Google to share unlawfully obtained data with rivals, and divest Chrome browser, among other remedies

Today’s filing follows August 2024 court finding that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search and November 2024 initial submission of proposed remedies

March 7, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 state attorneys general and the Justice Department in proposing a final package of remedies to end Google’s illegal monopoly over internet search engines and to restore competition to benefit consumers.

In December 2020, Attorney General Ellison and that bipartisan coalition filed a lawsuit alleging that Google illegally maintains its monopoly power over general search engines through anticompetitive contracts and conduct. In a landmark decision in August 2024, a D.C. federal district court judge ruled that Google violated federal antitrust laws by illegally maintaining a monopoly in online search and search text ads, finding that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” In November 2024, Attorney General Ellison and the prevailing Government plaintiffs submitted an initial package of remedies.

Today, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition filed a revised proposed final judgment (along with an executive summary of the same) that they ask the court to impose to end Google’s improper conduct and illegal monopoly that has stifled competition and harmed consumers. The revised proposed final judgment sticks closely to what the states and the Justice Department offered in their initial November filing.

“A strong economy needs competition, which includes competitive prices, innovation, and a fair playing field. Without that, consumers and businesses who play by the rules have unfair outcomes,” Attorney General Ellison said. “Google’s monopoly harms competition, drives up the cost of search advertising, and makes user experience worse for everyone. Breaking Google’s search monopoly will put fresh competitive pressure on Google to improve the quality of its search results for all Minnesotans. These fixes will also give Minnesota companies more viable options for search advertising, which is a crucial marketing tool for many mom-and-pop businesses.”

The package of remedies continues to propose a ban on all search-related payments to distribution partners, including Apple and Android partners. Google would also be required to divest Chrome, with the possible divestiture of Android if the initial set of remedies prove less effective than anticipated or if Google fails to comply with the decree. The Government Plaintiffs would further be entitled to preliminarily review Google’s future financial interests in online search and generative AI competitors for a limited period of time to ensure Google cannot use the same monopolistic playbook with new technologies. Finally, the decree would deny Google of its continuing exclusive control of ill-gotten gains by requiring the company to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with its competitors for a limited period of time. The revised proposal takes a more refined approach to the sharing of these types of data, accounting for important privacy considerations and protecting national security.

A hearing on the proposed remedies is currently scheduled to begin on April 22 and conclude by May 2.

Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesota consumers and businesses who wish to report concerns about antitrust issues to submit a report online via the Antitrust Report Form. Consumers may also call the Attorney General’s Office at (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), or (800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay).