US Judge Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google’s AI Overviews

A federal judge has dismissed two antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation (PMC), which accused Google of diverting web traffic through its AI-powered search features. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favor of Google on Wednesday, stating that the claims made by PMC and Chegg do not meet the requirements of antitrust law. In the lawsuits filed last year, the publishers accused Google of abusing its monopoly by coercing them into providing content for AI Overviews for free, under the threat of disappearing from search results. They alleged these practices hurt their revenue by reducing site traffic. Judge Mehta, who previously made a landmark antitrust ruling against Google in 2024, disagreed, writing that an “expectation” of search traffic does not constitute a legal agreement, but is simply how search engines function. While expressing sympathy for the challenges publishers face, Mehta noted that antitrust rules cannot substitute for legislative action regarding the economic impact of new innovations. Meanwhile, many publishers continue to report significant declines in traffic following Google’s search overhaul. Recent reports indicate Google is paying approximately 100 publishers for their contributions to AI Overviews and Gemini as part of a pilot program.