Judge Mehta dismisses Chegg and Penske Media antitrust suits over Google AI Overviews

What happened: On Sept 30, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta (D.D.C.) granted Google's motions to dismiss the federal Sherman Act claims brought by Chegg and Penske Media (owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline) over AI Overviews and Gemini's use of publisher content. Mehta rejected the publishers' 'reciprocal dealing' theory — that publishers surrender content in exchange for referral traffic — writing: 'Plaintiffs have pleaded only that they have an "expectation" that Google will send them search traffic if they make their content available for free... an expectation is not an agreement.' He said he was not unsympathetic to 'journalists, educators, and other online creators whose content Google takes and repurposes without compensation,' but called any gap in the law 'an issue for Congress.'

Why it matters to creators: This shuts down the antitrust route for publishers seeking compensation for AI-summarized content, pushing relief toward legislation and direct licensing — consistent with Mehta's earlier (March 2026) dismissal of similar claims by smaller local-news publishers.

Not yet known: Whether Chegg or Penske Media will appeal; whether the dismissals were with or without prejudice (secondary sources differ).