The Big Story 

A federal judge on Friday grappled with the way artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the internet, as he weighed what penalties Google will ultimately face for illegally monopolizing search. 

© Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Google and the Department of Justice (DOJ) presented their closing arguments following a three-week hearing to determine the proper remedies, after the tech giant was found to have improperly maintained its search monopoly through a series of exclusive agreements.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta peppered both sides with questions over eight hours Friday, focusing heavily on what AI means for Google and the search market.

The DOJ has argued that Google’s dominance over search gives it a leg up in the AI race. It has pushed for more forward-looking remedies, including forcing the company to sell its Chrome browser.

Google has contested this assertion, underscoring the competition it faces in the AI space from the likes of ChatGPT, Grok and DeepSeek.

It has suggested a much more limited set of remedies that would bar the company from entering into the exclusive agreements the court deemed anticompetitive.

Mehta appeared skeptical of Google’s proposed remedies, noting that they “could have all closed up shop” if he simply needed to issue an injunction blocking the company’s exclusive agreements with device manufacturers and browsers.

However, the judge didn’t seem entirely convinced by the DOJ’s wide-reaching proposal either, pushing the government to explain how AI fits into the search case.

David Dahlquist, the government’s lead attorney, dismissed Google’s proposal Friday as “milquetoast remedies that it knows will maintain the status quo.”

He argued the remedies can go beyond the confines of the search market identified in the case to prevent Google from taking advantage of its existing market power, underscoring the way generative AI could drive more users to its search engine.

“We do not have to have complete blinders as to what’s going on in the rest of the world and we should not,” Dahlquist said.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads 

How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

O’Leary: Musk just learned Washington ‘an incredibly nasty place’

FAA demanding investigation after SpaceX Starship breaks up in flight

Musk says ‘this is not the end of DOGE,’ vows to remain adviser to Trump

The Refresh 

News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:

Crypto Corner 

SEC dismisses Binance case

© AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping its case against crypto exchange Binance, as the agency continues to pull back on enforcement against the digital asset industry under President Trump. 

The SEC asked a judge Thursday to dismiss the case, which accused the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, of operating an unregistered exchange, artificially inflating its trading volume and misleading investors about its surveillance and controls. 

Binance has had a checkered history with U.S. regulators.

Zhao spent four months in prison last year for violating anti-money laundering laws, and his company paid $4 billion to settle a case with the Justice Department in 2023. 

The exchange has found itself in the news once again in recent weeks, after a Trump family crypto venture announced that its new stablecoin would be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between an Emirati firm and Binance.  

Binance and the SEC initially asked the court to put the proceedings on hold in February, shortly after Trump took office and Republican commissioner Mark Uyeda took the reins of the agency as acting chair. 

The case was one of the final remaining Biden-era crypto lawsuits. Binance touted the decision to dismiss the case as a “landmark moment.” 

“We’re deeply grateful to Chairman Paul Atkins and the Trump administration for recognizing that innovation can’t thrive under regulation by enforcement,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The U.S. is back – leading from the front in the future of blockchain.

What Others are Reading 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Musk appears in Oval Office with black eye

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk appeared in the Oval Office on Friday with a black eye, which he said was the result of his young son punching … Read more

Ernst responds to jeers on Medicaid cuts: ‘Well, we’re all going to die’

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) pushed back against constituents who shouted out at her recent town hall meeting that cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental … Read more

What Others are Reading 

Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill: