Judge dismisses antitrust lawsuits over Google’s AI Overviews
A federal judge dismissed Chegg and Penske Media antitrust suits over traffic lost to Google AI Overviews.
US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed antitrust lawsuits by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation, parent of Rolling Stone, which accused Google of using monopoly power to obtain publisher content for AI Overviews and divert traffic. Mehta wrote that an expectation of search referrals is not an agreement and that antitrust law cannot replace legislation addressing the economic effects of new technology, while saying the court was not unsympathetic to publishers. Separately, The Information reported Google is paying about 100 publishers in a pilot covering AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini. The Verge disclosed that it is part of Penske Media.
- Judge Mehta said expected search traffic is not an enforceable agreement.
- Chegg and Penske claimed AI Overviews coerced free content and cut visits.
- Court said antitrust law cannot replace legislation on AI search economics.
- Google reportedly pays about 100 publishers in an AI features pilot.
Full article387 words · extracted from theverge.com · click to collapse
Rolling Stone’s parent company and Chegg claimed Google’s AI search features drove away traffic from their sites.
Rolling Stone’s parent company and Chegg claimed Google’s AI search features drove away traffic from their sites.
by Emma Roth
Oct 1, 2026, 5:12 PM UTC
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Emma Roth
is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
A federal judge has dismissed a pair of antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Rolling Stone parent company Penske Media Corporation, which accused Google of driving away web traffic with its AI-powered search features, as reported earlier by Reuters. US District Judge Amit Mehta takes Google’s side in a ruling on Wednesday, writing that PMC and Chegg’s claims don’t stand up to antitrust law.
In lawsuits filed last year, Chegg and PMC accused Google of abusing its monopoly power by coercing publishers into supplying content for AI Overviews for free, or risk disappearing from search results. The publishers alleged Google’s practices diverted traffic away from their sites, hurting their revenue.
Judge Mehta, who made a landmark antitrust ruling against Google in 2024, disagrees with Chegg and PMC’s claims. “Plaintiffs have pleaded only that they have an ‘expectation’ that Google will send them search traffic if they make their content available for free,” Mehta writes. “But an expectation is not an agreement. It is simply how a general search engine works.”
Mehta adds that the court is not “unsympathetic to the situation publishers now find themselves in,” but writes that antitrust rules can’t replace a legislative body’s decision to address the economic impact of “new innovation.”
Meanwhile, websites continue to see effects of Google’s AI-powered search overhaul, with traffic to news publishers and small websites taking a steep dive. This week, The Information reported that Google is paying around 100 publishers for their contributions to AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini as part of a pilot program.
Disclosure: The Verge is part of Penske Media.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
- Emma Roth
The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Email (required)