Google Says it Will Appeal Online Search Antitrust Decision

FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
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Google Says it Will Appeal Online Search Antitrust Decision

FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

Alphabet's Google on Saturday said it will appeal an antitrust decision under which a federal judge proposed less aggressive ways to restore online search competition than the 10-year regime suggested by antitrust enforcers.

"We will wait for the Court's opinion. And we still strongly believe the Court's original decision was wrong, and look forward to our eventual appeal," Google said in a post on X.

US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington heard closing arguments on Friday at a trial on proposals to address Google's illegal monopoly in online search and related advertising.

In April, a federal judge said that Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, with the US Department of Justice saying that Google should sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and its ad exchange.

The DOJ and a coalition of states want Google to share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers to be the default search engine on new devices.

Antitrust enforcers are concerned about how Google's search monopoly gives it an advantage in artificial intelligence products like Gemini and vice versa.

John Schmidtlein, an attorney for Google, said at the hearing that while generative AI is influencing how search looks, Google has addressed any concerns about competition in AI by no longer entering exclusive agreements with wireless carriers and smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics, leaving them free to load rival search and AI apps on new devices.



Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
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Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)

Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern.

Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised on a number of occasions during the first few weeks of his papacy.

"In particular, it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them or even to replace them," Leo said at an event held as part of the Roman Catholic Jubilee or Holy Year.

AI proponents say it will speed up scientific and technological progress and help people to carry out routine tasks, granting them more time to pursue higher-value and creative work.

The US-born pontiff said attention was needed to protect "healthy, fair and sound lifestyles, especially for the good of younger generations."

He noted that AI's "static memory" was in no way comparable to the "creative, dynamic" power of human memory.

"Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can pre-package," he said.

Leo, who became pope in May, has spoken previously of the threat posed by AI to jobs and has called on journalists to use it responsibly.