The U.S. government on Wednesday formally urged a federal judge to mandate a breakup of Google by selling the company’s Chrome web browser, following a major ruling in August that found the tech giant in violation of U.S. antitrust laws concerning its search business.
In a 23-page filing, the Department of Justice stated that forcing the company to divest Chrome would level the playing field for competitors in the search market, CNBC reported.
Supported by a coalition of states, the move by the DOJ could lead to the most significant antitrust penalties imposed on a tech giant in decades, targeting Google’s monopoly on search, besides curbing its expanding influence in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” the filing said.
The DOJ has also proposed limiting or banning default agreements and other revenue-sharing deals related to search products. It includes the company’s search agreements with Apple for the iPhone and Samsung for its mobile devices—deals that cost Google billions annually in payouts.
At the heart of the case is whether methods used by Google to make it the default search engine on platforms like Chrome, iPhones, and Android devices have been anticompetitive and led to the sidelining of smaller rivals. In August, a federal judge ruled that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, affirming that the company holds a monopoly in the search market.
“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” District Judge Amit Mehta had stated.
The lawsuit, filed by the government in 2020, alleged that Google maintained control over the general search market by creating barriers to entry and a feedback loop that maintained its dominance. It has helped Google block rivals such as Bing and DuckDuckGo, leaving consumers with few choices, CNN reported.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in his testimony last year, cautioned against allowing Google to use the vast amount of search data it collects from billions of daily queries for training its AI models, which could lead to a “nightmare” scenario for the future of AI.
If the court approves the proposed penalties, it could alter Americans’ access to information online and disrupt the deep integration of Google’s various services and products.
Legal experts, however, believe the most likely outcome is that the court will require Google to terminate certain exclusive agreements, such as its deal with Apple. Additionally, the court may mandate that Google make it easier for users to access alternative search engines.
Google launched Chrome in 2008, providing the search giant with data it then uses for targeting ads. Search advertising accounted for $49.4 billion in revenue in parent company Alphabet’s third quarter, representing three-quarters of total ad sales in the period.
The DOJ’s request is considered to be the most aggressive attempt to break up a tech company since its antitrust case against Microsoft, which reached a settlement in 2001.
Earlier this year, a federal jury in California found that Google’s app store terms violated U.S. antitrust laws, establishing that Google holds an illegal monopoly on Android app distribution.
Following this, Google was hit with a three-year ban last month, prohibiting practices like forcing app developers to use its payment system for in-app purchases. The company is also facing another antitrust lawsuit in Alexandria, Virginia.
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