Aspen Policy Academy

This article originally appeared on TechSpot on September 21, 2025.

By Skye Jacobs

US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled earlier this month that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Instead of imposing the most extreme penalty, such as breaking up the company, he ordered Google to open some of its most valuable resources to competitors. Those resources include a one-time copy of Google’s search index as well as access to its user click-and-query data – the record of what people search for and which results they select.

Cybersecurity expert Betsy Cooper of the Aspen Institute called the redistribution of data “a surprise” for users who assumed it would remain with Google alone. “Data is the currency upon which this entire search ecosystem was created, and it’s the currency upon which Google built its wealth,” she said. “Now you’re seeing a redistribution of that currency to other competitors.”