China drops antitrust probe into Google, escalates pressure on Nvidia and Intel
This move coincides with China's recent ban on domestic tech companies purchasing Nvidia’s AI chips and its consideration of potential fines against the chipmaker that could amount to billions of dollars.
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China has reportedly dropped its antitrust investigation into Google while ramping up regulatory pressure on U.S. semiconductor giants Nvidia and Intel, signaling a strategic pivot in its trade and tech policy. According to media reports, Beijing is selectively targeting chipmakers—seen as critical leverage points—in the broader context of escalating U.S.-China trade negotiations.
This move coincides with China's recent ban on domestic tech companies purchasing Nvidia’s AI chips and its consideration of potential fines against the chipmaker that could amount to billions of dollars.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has formally ended its competition probe into the dominance of Google's Android operating system, which had focused on its impact on Chinese smartphone manufacturers such as Oppo and Xiaomi, the reports added.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, it was revealed that Google had considered selling parts of its advertising technology (adtech) business to address antitrust concerns raised in the United States and Europe. The disclosure came on September 15 from Jeannie Rhee, a lawyer representing Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.
Rhee stated that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is demanding a full technical separation and divestiture of Google’s advertising exchange platform, AdX.
Google and the DOJ are set to face off in a two-week hearing starting next week, following a judge’s earlier ruling that the company had illegally monopolized two key adtech markets. The hearing will determine whether Google must divest portions of its business.
Currently, Google operates across the entire digital advertising ecosystem—managing an ad-buying platform for marketers, an ad-selling platform for publishers, and a trading exchange (AdX) where both sides transact through high-speed auctions.
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