On Tuesday, the US government indicated it might ask a judge to compel Alphabet’s Google to divest certain parts of its business, including its Chrome browser and Android operating system, which it claims are integral to maintaining an illegal monopoly in online search.
In a significant ruling in August, a judge found that Google, which handles 90% of internet searches in the US, has established an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department’s proposed remedies could fundamentally alter how Americans access information online, potentially decreasing Google’s revenues and allowing competitors more space to grow.
“Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google’s control of distribution today but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow,” stated the Justice Department.
These proposed solutions also aim to prevent Google’s past dominance from extending into the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence, according to prosecutors. They may also seek to eliminate Google’s payments to ensure its search engine is pre-installed or set as the default on new devices, which amounted to $26.3 billion in 2021 paid to companies like Apple and other manufacturers to secure its market position.
Google has announced plans to appeal the ruling, characterizing the proposed measures as “radical” and stating they “go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case.” The company argues that its search engine has gained users due to its quality and that it competes robustly with platforms like Amazon. Additionally, users have the option to choose other search engines as their default.
As the world’s fourth-largest company, with a market capitalization exceeding $2 trillion, Alphabet faces increasing legal scrutiny from both competitors and antitrust authorities. In a separate case, a US judge ruled that Google must open its lucrative Play app store to greater competition, including allowing Android apps from rival sources.
Google is also contesting a Justice Department case that seeks to dismantle its web advertising business. In a bid to prevent Google’s dominance from extending into AI, the Justice Department may seek to make available the indexes, data, and models used for Google search and AI-assisted features to competitors.
Prosecutors may also pursue orders that restrict Google from entering agreements that limit access to web content for other AI competitors and allow websites to opt out of Google using their content to train AI models. Google warned that these AI-related proposals could hinder the industry, stating, “There are enormous risks to the government putting its thumb on the scale of this vital industry, skewing investment, distorting incentives, and hobbling emerging business models at a time when we need to encourage investment.”
The Justice Department is expected to file a detailed proposal with the court by November 20, while Google will have the opportunity to propose its remedies by December 20.
US District Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling was a significant victory for antitrust enforcers, who have initiated a series of ambitious cases against Big Tech companies in recent years. The US government has also taken legal action against Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, and Apple for allegedly maintaining illegal monopolies.
Some elements of the Justice Department’s proposals to break up Google have received backing from smaller competitors, such as Yelp and DuckDuckGo. Yelp, which sued Google over search practices in August, advocates for spinning off Google’s Chrome browser and AI services and seeks to prevent Google from favoring its local business pages in search results.
