A United States federal judge has ruled that Google must share part of its search data with competing companies, a measure aimed at fostering competition in the digital market and reducing the near-total dominance the company holds in the sector.

Although the court decision does not require the tech giant to divest from key products such as its Chrome browser or the Android operating system, it does establish that other search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo will be able to access valuable information that was previously under Google’s exclusive control.

The ruling also limits the exclusivity agreements the company had signed with device manufacturers and software developers, allowing alternative browsers and new artificial intelligence applications to be pre-installed on Android phones.

This opening represents a significant change for rival companies that for years denounced Google’s monopolistic practices. The markets reacted positively after the ruling became known, and shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, rose between 7% and 9% because the sanction avoided more drastic measures such as breaking up business units.

However, not everyone welcomed the news: critics and competitors such as DuckDuckGo, Yelp, and Epic Games described the resolution as a punishment that was too light, arguing that in practice Google will still control most of the traffic and advertising revenue on the internet. Antitrust watchdog organizations also noted that although the ruling is historic, it does not immediately guarantee a more balanced market, and it will depend on how real access to data is implemented.

For its part, Google expressed satisfaction at having avoided more severe structural sanctions, although it acknowledged that it will have to adjust some of its business practices. The ruling opens a new chapter in the legal and regulatory battle facing big tech companies in the United States and could set a precedent for future decisions aimed at limiting monopoly power in the digital economy.