Google appeals landmark antitrust verdict over search monopoly

Google has appealed a US district judge's landmark antitrust ruling that found the company illegally held a monopoly in online search.

The company is requesting a pause on implementing a series of fixes - viewed by some observers as too lenient - aimed at limiting its monopoly power.

He refused to grant government lawyers their request for a Google breakup that would include a spin-off of Chrome, the world's most popular browser. Instead, he pushed less rigorous remedies, including a requirement that Google share certain data with "qualified competitors" as deemed by the court. That data was due to include portions of its search index, Google's massive inventory of web content that functions like a map of the internet. The judge also called for Google to allow certain competitors to display the tech giant's search results as their own in a bid to give upstarts the time and resources they need to innovate.

This week, Google parent Alphabet became the fourth company ever to reach a market capitalisation of $4tn.