Courts, Culture, and Competition: Major Rulings Reshape the Landscape

3rd September 2025

Google notched a partial win in its antitrust battle, avoiding a breakup of Chrome and Android but facing new rules that force it to share data with rivals, a move that could reshape competition in search and advertising. At Vogue, a new chapter begins as Chloe Malle takes over U.S. editorial leadership from Anna Wintour, who will continue guiding the magazine globally. In politics, Donald Trump was dealt two major legal blows. A federal judge ruled his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles was illegal, while a U.S. appeals court struck down much of his global tariff program, saying he exceeded presidential authority. Together, the rulings and leadership shifts highlight a day of transition for Big Tech, media, and the political world with ripple effects likely to play out for years. All this in today’s Read It and Eat! 

Major News 

• Google Wins Partial Victory in Antitrust Case but Ordered to Share Data with Rivals

Google scored a rare win in its long-running fight with U.S. antitrust regulators on Tuesday, as a federal judge ruled it won’t have to break up its business by selling off Chrome or Android. The decision was a relief for investors, sending shares of parent company Alphabet up more than 7% in after-hours trading. Apple, which will continue receiving billions in annual payments from Google to keep its search engine as the default on iPhones, also saw its stock rise 3%.

But the ruling wasn’t an outright win. Judge Amit Mehta ordered Google to begin sharing key data with rivals in an effort to open up competition in online search and advertising an area where he had already found Google holds an illegal monopoly. While investors welcomed the fact that Google can keep its core businesses intact, the data-sharing requirement could give emerging AI companies and search challengers new tools to compete. As Mehta put it, artificial intelligence has already changed the landscape more than any rival search engine has managed in decades.

For regulators, the case is part of a broader crackdown on Big Tech dominance that spans Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta. While Google is likely to appeal, potentially taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court, the decision signals that courts are trying to balance the need for competition with the reality that AI-driven disruption is already reshaping the search market. In the meantime, antitrust officials say they are weighing next steps.

Google has pushed back on the ruling, warning that forced data sharing could harm user privacy. Still, analysts say the impact will take time to play out. “It will take a longer period of time for consumers to also embrace these new experiences,” said Cantor Fitzgerald’s Deepak Mathivanan. For now, investors seem more focused on what Google doesn’t have to give up its browser, operating system, and massive revenue-sharing deals that remain central to its dominance. Yahoo.Finance 

• Vogue Names Chloe Malle as Anna Wintour’s U.S. Successor

Vogue has officially named Chloe Malle as the new editorial lead for its American edition, marking the end of an era under Anna Wintour’s U.S. leadership. Wintour, who has shaped the magazine since 1988 and turned the Met Gala into a global cultural spectacle, is stepping back from her U.S. duties. Still, she’s not leaving the stage she will continue as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, guiding the brand’s worldwide strategy and signature events.

Malle, 39, comes with deep ties to the creative world as the daughter of actress Candice Bergen and filmmaker Louis Malle. She joined Vogue full-time in 2011 after stints at the New York Observer and as a freelancer, eventually rising to editor of Vogue.com and co-host of the brand’s podcast The Run-Through.

The choice follows weeks of speculation over who would inherit the role. Wintour herself had hinted back in June that a search was underway. As the news broke, friends of Vogue weighed in: filmmaker Sofia Coppola described it as “a new era,” while designer Marc Jacobs joked that, knowing Wintour, “I can’t imagine that Anna’s going to let go of a thing.”

With Malle stepping in, Vogue begins a new chapter though it’s clear Wintour’s influence will still loom large over the magazine she transformed into a global powerhouse. Yahoo.Finance 

• Judge Rules Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Los Angeles Illegal

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles during protests and immigration enforcement operations earlier this year. District Judge Charles Breyer, delivering the decision from San Francisco on Tuesday, said the deployment amounted to “willful” violations of federal law.

According to the ruling, the administration not only used troops for functions that their own training materials explicitly forbid, but also failed to properly coordinate with state and local officials. The court also found evidence that federal agencies were “coached” on how to word their requests for military assistance, further undercutting the administration’s defense.

At the heart of the case was the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars federal military forces from enforcing domestic laws. California argued that Trump’s deployment violated that principle. Trump’s lawyers countered that the troops were there to protect federal officers, not to police civilians, but Judge Breyer rejected that argument, citing evidence of direct involvement in law enforcement activities.

The decision comes as Trump continues to float the idea of deploying troops to other cities like Chicago and New York. California Governor Gavin Newsom wasted no time responding, posting on social media: “DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN. The courts agree his militarisation of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL.” Roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines were initially sent to Los Angeles in June, though most had withdrawn by late July. The judge noted that even the remaining units had received improper training on what they could legally do. BBC 

• Judges Reject Trump’s Global Tariffs, Citing Presidential Overreach

A U.S. appeals court has dealt a major blow to Donald Trump’s trade agenda, ruling that many of the tariffs imposed during his presidency were unlawful. In a 7-4 decision, the Federal Circuit said the former president’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs applied to dozens of countries as well as specific levies on China, Mexico, and Canada overstepped his authority. The judges found that Trump’s use of emergency economic powers to justify the tariffs was “contrary to law,” since the power to set duties and tariffs sits firmly with Congress.

The ruling won’t take effect until October 14, giving Trump’s legal team time to appeal to the Supreme Court. Trump, for his part, blasted the decision on Truth Social, warning it would “literally destroy the United States of America” if allowed to stand. He argued that without tariffs, the country would be “financially weak,” framing the measures as essential to national security and economic strength.

The 127-page opinion underscores a key point: Congress never gave presidents blanket authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law Trump invoked. The court noted that when lawmakers want to grant tariff powers, they do so explicitly and no such language exists in the 1977 statute. The case stems from lawsuits by small businesses and states that challenged Trump’s executive orders imposing a baseline 10% tariff worldwide, alongside additional “reciprocal” tariffs designed to counter trade imbalances.

While tariffs on steel and aluminum remain intact under separate presidential powers, this ruling throws out some of Trump’s most far-reaching trade measures and raises questions about deals struck with countries that had accepted reduced rates. With the Supreme Court expected to weigh in, the fight could test how far a president can go in reshaping U.S. trade policy without direct approval from Congress, a question that could have lasting implications well beyond Trump. BBC 

Minor News 

• UK parliament security staff to strike over pay and working conditions. CityAM 

• Kraft Heinz looks to simpler products in push to lift shares. Reuters 

• Ten major banks beat US antitrust lawsuit over bond trading. Reuters 

• Aon in talks to sell back NFP wealth unit to Madison Dearborn for nearly $3B. Financial Times 

• Disney agrees to pay $10M to settle the US case over children’s data collection. Financial Times 

• Apple’s top robotics AI researcher departs for Meta in latest talent poach. Bloomberg 

• ChatGPT to roll out teen parental controls this month following wrongful death lawsuit. CNBC 

• Jaguar Land Rover hit by cyberattack disrupting production and sales. Yahoo.Finance 

• Paramount is producing a ‘Call of Duty’ Movie. Bloomberg