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Title: Alphabet settles with shareholders over Google antitrust lawsuit

Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2025 19:56:36 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/alphabet-se...

Google is still waiting to hear how it will have to address its monopoly in
the search engine business ΓÇö it plans to appeal the judgement ΓÇö but in
the meantime, it also has to answer to its shareholders. According to a
report from The Financial Times, Google's parent company Alphabet has reached
a preliminary settlement with shareholders who were also suing the company
for allowing Google's anticompetitive behavior, which they believe exposed
the company to "reputational damage" and "substantial costs."

The new settlement will reportedly force Alphabet to rebuild its "global
compliance structure" and will cost the company a minimum of $500 million
over the next 10 years to make it happen. At its most basic, this means
establishing some kind of committee within the Alphabet board to oversee
regulatory issues, of which Google has accrued many in the last few years.

"A new body made up of senior executives would meanwhile report directly to
chief executive Sundar Pichai," FT writes, while another group "consisting of
product managers and internal compliance experts," would consult. The goal is
to prevent Alphabet and its subsidiaries from making the kind of business
decision that led to Google being deemed a monopoly on multiple counts. A
judge will need to approve the settlement before the company can move
forward, though.

The case against Alphabet officials like Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin was
originally brought by a Michigan pension fund on behalf of shareholders back
in 2021. In comparison to the structural changes the US Department of Justice
is requesting, paying some money and forming some committees is a small ask.
In the grand scheme of things, changing how Alphabet deals with regulation
will likely be one of the more minor ways the company's business is forced to
change in the next few years.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/alphabet-settles-with-shareholders-over-google-antitrust-lawsuit-
195636653.html?src=rss

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