Google has avoided the risk of being broken up following the U.S. antitrust trial, but now faces new restrictions that threaten its dominance in the search market.

Federal Judge Amit Mehta ordered temporary measures limiting the tech giant’s ability to make exclusive deals tying its search engine, Chrome browser, or Google Assistant to other apps, or linking revenue sharing to keeping its services pre-installed on devices.

It will also be prohibited from forcing the Play Store to be tied to specific apps, according to a report by TechCrunch reviewed by Al Arabiya Business.

Under the ruling, Google must share index data and user interaction with “qualified competitors,” as well as offer search and advertising services at uniform prices, aiming to open the field for startups to compete with the search giant.

The judge has not yet issued a final ruling but required Google and the U.S. Department of Justice to agree on a revised formula by September 10, with the final ruling to last six years and take effect 60 days after issuance.

This development follows Judge Mehta’s ruling last year that Google acted unlawfully to maintain its monopoly, while the Department of Justice sought tougher measures including forcing the company to divest Chrome or even Android, and ending its billion-dollar agreements with Apple and Samsung.

In 2021, Google spent over $26 billion to ensure its search engine was the default choice on devices, with $18 billion paid to Apple alone, with whom it shares about 36% of search ad revenue via the Safari browser.

However, Google defended itself, stating that government proposals threaten innovation and user privacy, with CEO Sundar Pichai likening forced data sharing to an “effective exit” from the search business.

The U.S. decision has drawn comparisons to the European Digital Markets Act, which requires Google to share click and query data with competitors.

However, the current U.S. restrictions are temporary and much narrower in scope than those sought by the Department of Justice.

Experts believe the ruling may also impact another trial Google faces regarding its dominance in the digital advertising market, expected to be resolved later in September.

Even with these rulings, Google’s legal battles are expected to continue until at least 2027 or 2028.