US v. Google search monopoly ruling
A US federal judge ruled that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in general search services and general text advertising.
What changed
On 5 August 2024 Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found that Google had acted illegally to maintain monopolies in general search and general search text advertising, principally through exclusive default placement payments to Apple, Mozilla and device makers. The liability decision did not itself change search results but set up a remedies phase that would. Evidence and testimony from the trial also produced a substantial amount of previously non-public information about how Google ranking works.
Timing
Rollout began 5 August 2024. No completion date was announced. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.