US considers Google breakup as remedy in landmark antitrust case
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business, in what would be a historic breakup of one of the world’s largest technology companies.
Antitrust enforcers are considering a breakup to challenge Alphabet Inc.’s dominance. on search mitigation, the agency said in a court filing Tuesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Judge Amit Mehta could also order Google to grant access to the underlying data it uses to build its search results and artificial intelligence products, the report said.
The Department of Justice “is considering behavioral and structural solutions that would prevent Google from using products like Chrome, Play, and Android to favor Google Search and Google search-related products and features – including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence – about rivals or newcomers,” the agency said.
The 32-page document outlines a framework of possible options for the judge to consider as the case moves into the recovery phase. The agency said it will issue a fuller proposal on solutions next month.
This effort is the most significant step toward reining in a major tech company from illegal monopolization since Washington tried unsuccessfully to break up Microsoft two decades ago. The Justice Department and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have taken aim at Big Tech’s dominance, scrutinizing deals and investments and accusing some of the nation’s most powerful companies of illegally dominating markets.
The Justice Department charged Apple earlier this year with stifling innovation by denying rivals access to its hardware and software features. The FTC sent questions to Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. about their investments in AI startups as part of a study into how these partnerships impact competition.
Antitrust enforcers said Google achieved economies of scale and data through its illegal distribution deals with other tech companies, making its search engine the default option on smartphones and Web browsers. Google’s Android business includes the operating system used on smartphones and devices as well as apps.
The Justice Department also said it may require Google to give websites more options to opt out of its artificial intelligence products. The agency said it is considering proposals related to Google’s dominance of search text advertising, such as requiring the company to give advertisers more information and control over where their ads appear. The agency can also request that Google be restricted from investing in search competitors or potential rivals.
Google criticized the Justice Department’s filing as “radical” and said it would have “significant unintended consequences for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness.”
“We believe today’s blueprint goes far beyond the legal scope of the Court’s decision on search distribution contracts,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of Regulatory Affairs, wrote in a blog post.
Antitrust pressure from multiple cases against Google is increasing. Mehta, who ruled this summer that Google violated antitrust laws in both the online search and search text advertising markets, plans to hold a trial on the proposed solution next spring and make a decision by August 2025. Google has already said it plans to appeal Mehta’s decision. , but must wait until he finds a solution before doing so.
European Union watchdogs last year similarly touted the possibility of a breakup of Google’s operations to address antitrust concerns. The bloc’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said “divestiture is the only way” to address concerns about how the company is favoring its own services at the expense of ad tech rivals, advertisers and online publishers. That EU case – which could see a final ruling by the end of this year – marked the latest escalation in a long-running saga that has already led to three EU fines totaling more than 8 billion euros. 73,886 crore) due to misuse in other Google services.
“We believe a Google breakup is unlikely at this point, despite the antitrust swirl,” said Daniel Ives, managing director and senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities. “Google will fight this in court for years.”
A group of US states that have sued Google separately from the Justice Department over its search monopoly said they could try to make the tech giant pay for a public education campaign on how to switch search engines.
On Monday, another federal judge ordered Google to open its app store for the next three years to resolve a separate antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games Inc. related to the dominance of app distribution on Android smartphones. The company also plans to appeal this decision.
Last month, the Justice Department and Google faced off in a third antitrust case focused on the company’s dominance over the technology used to buy and sell online display ads. Closing arguments in that lawsuit are scheduled for the end of November. Antitrust enforcers have said they plan to force Google to sell parts of its ad tech business if a court rules that the company monopolizes that market.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
