US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington dismissed on September 30 two antitrust lawsuits brought against Google by education technology company Chegg and Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media Corporation. The suits alleged Google unlawfully used publishers’ content in AI-generated search summaries.

Chegg filed its case in February 2025, and Penske, which also publishes Billboard and Variety, later joined with similar claims. Both alleged Google forced publishers to let their content feed AI Overviews to stay indexed in search, cutting their traffic and revenue.

Judge Mehta granted Google’s motions to dismiss with prejudice on the federal claims, ruling they failed under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. ‘Plaintiffs have pleaded only that they have an expectation that Google will send them search traffic if they make their content available for free,’ he wrote. ‘But an expectation is not an agreement. It is simply how a general search engine works.’

The judge said he was not unsympathetic to publishers whose content Google takes and repurposes without compensation, but that antitrust law cannot substitute for legislation. The dismissal is appealable. Google has denied any wrongdoing.