Although everyone’s eyes are on legal war with the US Department of Justice about Google’s alleged search monopoly, the company quietly solved a different, yet important, legal headache.
Today, Google’s parent company has agreed to comply with a $ 500 million compliance to fix the shareholders’ case, accusing the company of failing to stop violations of non -confidence. The case, filed by the company by investors, targeted top executives, including CEO Sunder Pachai and co -founder Larry Page and Sergey Bern.
Unlike the DOJ’s broader effort to break Google’s search business, the case focuses on internal governance failures. The shareholders alleged that the alphabet leadership ignored the dangers of growing distrust of its basic businesses, including search, advertising tech, Android, and the app distribution. He claimed that the company’s board failed to follow the red flags, and exposes the alphabet with regular results, which may have been avoided with over -supervision. As part of the settlement, the alphabet has obliged major structural changes. The company will set up a stand loan risk and compliance committee at the board level, which is separate from its audit group. The role of a new senior vice president will be created to monitor compliance, which will be reported directly. In addition, a compliance committee comprising product managers and internal experts will be embedded in Google’s teams to monitor and deal with disciplinary issues. These reforms should remain intact for at least four years.
Over the years, we have dedicated resources to promote a strong compliance process. We are happy to make these promises to avoid prolonged litigation.
– Google spokesman, June 2, 2025
Despite denying any wrongdoing, Google said “is” happy to make these promises “to avoid prolonged litigation. The shareholders will not get direct compensation, but their legal team is expected to look for a lawyer’s fees up to $ 80 million, as well as the 500 million alphabetical alphabet agreed to spend on compliance efforts in the next decade. It is important to note that this settlement does not indicate the elimination of Google’s legal problems. Hours after the agreement was disclosed, Judge Amit Mehta wrapped up hearings in the case of DOJ’s major distrust, which could result in severe treatments such as forcing Google to divide Chrome or divide search data with rivals. A decision is expected by August.
From my point of view, the 2025 Big Tech is still one of the most difficult years. Pressure on Google and Apple is increasing as regulators around the world retreat against their dominance. This settlement may indicate the willingness for the evolution of the alphabet, but it also highlights the growing scrutiny of the giants.
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