Judge Amit Mehta Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google AI

US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed antitrust lawsuits filed by education technology company Chegg and publisher Penske Media Corporation against Google. The plaintiffs alleged that Google violated antitrust laws by using their content in AI-generated summaries, which they claimed diverted web traffic and reduced their revenue. Chegg and Penske argued that Google forced publishers to allow AI overviews to remain indexed in search results to maintain visibility.

Judge Mehta ruled that the claims failed to meet legal standards, concluding that an expectation of search traffic does not constitute a binding agreement. While he expressed sympathy for creators whose content is repurposed without compensation, he stated that antitrust laws are not a substitute for legislative action to address economic harm caused by innovation.