Google settles shareholder lawsuit, will spend $500M on being less evil

“Over the years, we have devoted substantial resources to building robust compliance processes,” a Google spokesperson said. “To avoid protracted litigation we’re happy to make these commitments.”

This case is what’s known as a consolidated derivative litigation, where multiple shareholder lawsuits are combined into a single action. The litigation stretches back to 2021, when a Michigan pension fund accused Google of harming the company’s future by triggering widespread antitrust and regulatory actions with “prolonged and ongoing monopolistic and anticompetitive business practices.” That accusation has only gained more weight in the years since it was made.

Today, Google is coming off three major antitrust losses. In 2023, Google lost an antitrust case brought by Epic Games that accused it of anticompetitive practices in app distribution. In 2024, the US Department of Justice successfully showed that Google has illegally maintained a search monopoly. Finally, Google lost the advertising antitrust case earlier this year, putting its primary revenue driver at risk.

These legal salvos could cost the company billions in fines and force major changes to its business. Google is facing a world in which it might need to open Google Play to other app stores, hand over advertising data to competitors, license its search index, and even sell the Chrome browser. Perhaps the reforms will lead to a friendlier, less evil company, but that won’t undo the damage from the current spate of antitrust actions.