Judge Dismisses Chegg and Penske Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google
A US federal judge has dismissed lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media against Google. The companies accused Google of antitrust violations in its AI search products, which have led to decreasing traffic at numerous sites.
The lawsuits were filed in 2025, with Chegg claiming that Google illegally scraped its educational content for AI overviews. This allowed Gemini models to recreate the content and reduce site traffic.
Penske Media, owner of publications like Rolling Stone and Variety, also filed a case alleging lost traffic due to Google's AI search practices.
US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google's conduct is not illegal under antitrust law. He noted that there was no formal agreement between Google and either company, only an 'expectation' that websites would send traffic if they made their content available for free.