Google CEO Pichai thanks Trump after favorable antitrust court ruling

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai thanked President Donald Trump Thursday for the administration’s « constructive dialogue » related to its antitrust case that was resolved this week, according to several reports. 

« You had a very good day yesterday, » Trump told Pichai at a White House meeting that included other tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook, according to The Wall Street Journal. « Do you want to talk about that big day you had yesterday? »

Trump was referring to Google’s stock going up after a judge ruled the company can keep Chrome and Android in a monopoly lawsuit but must share data with rivals. 

The ruling preserves Google’s role as the default search engine on iPhones, meaning users will not notice much change, but it also keeps rivals like DuckDuckGo or Bing at a disadvantage. 

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Sundar Pichai at a White House meeting

Google CEO Sundar Pichai thanked President Donald Trump Thursday for the administration’s « constructive dialogue » related to its antitrust case that was resolved this week, according to several reports.  (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

« I’m glad it’s over, » Pichai said, according to the New York Post. « It was a long process. Appreciate that your administration had a constructive dialogue, and we were able to get it to some resolution. »

The U.S. Department of Justice under Trump brought an antitrust lawsuit against Google over its online search monopoly in October 2020, and the Biden administration continued to prosecute the lawsuit after his election.

Google was found last year to have an illegal monopoly. 

Sundar Pichai sitting across from Trump at a table

Sundar Pichai sits across a table from President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Bill Gates.  (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Pichai added that he looked forward to working with the Trump administration on artificial intelligence initiatives, thanking Trump for his « leadership. »

Google has said it plans to appeal the decision, but the lengthy process could take years before it will be required to act on the ruling.

« Judge Mehta is aware that the Supreme Court is the likely final destination for the case, and he has chosen remedies that stand a good chance of acceptance by the court, » said William Kovacic, director of the competition law center at George Washington University.

Google search

The ruling preserves Google’s role as the default search engine on iPhones, meaning users will not notice much change, but it also keeps rivals like DuckDuckGo or Bing at a disadvantage.  (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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This case is the biggest U.S. tech antitrust fight since Microsoft in the 1990s and will likely head to the Supreme Court. Google still faces separate challenges to its app store and ad business.

Fox Business’ Christina Shaw contributed to this report.