The US Department of Justice indicated on Tuesday (October 8th) that it may propose a judge to force Google to sell off certain divisions, such as the Chrome browser and Android operating system. This is because these businesses are believed to maintain Google’s illegal monopoly position in online search.
In August this year, a US judge ruled that Google’s handling of 90% of internet searches in the US constituted an illegal monopoly. If the Department of Justice’s proposal is ultimately implemented, it would be a historic antitrust breakup.
Prosecutors in the US stated that the proposed remedies would also prevent Google from leveraging its past dominant position into emerging artificial intelligence businesses.
In a document submitted by the US Department of Justice on Tuesday evening, it was stated, “For over a decade, Google has controlled the most popular distribution channels, giving competitors little incentive to vie for users.”
“To fully redress these harms, it is not only necessary to end Google’s control over distribution today, but also to ensure that Google cannot control distribution channels in the future,” the document read.
The remedies proposed by the Department of Justice could reshape how Americans search for information online while reducing Google’s revenue and providing more room for its competitors to grow.
Antitrust enforcement officials stated that Google pays fees annually to Apple and other device manufacturers to ensure that manufacturers set Google as the default search engine on new devices. In 2021 alone, Google paid $26.3 billion for this purpose.
The US Department of Justice also mentioned that it might require Google to allow websites to opt-out of its artificial intelligence products and provide competitors with data within its search index and models, including AI-assisted search features and ad rankings.
Google plans to appeal, stating in a blog post that these proposals are “radical” and go “far beyond the specific legal issues of this case”, potentially harming consumers, businesses, and developers.
Google said that the proposals related to artificial intelligence could stifle the industry’s development.
“At a time when we need to encourage investment, the government is imposing controls on this important industry, which poses significant risks—potentially distorting investment, distorting incentive mechanisms, and hindering emerging business models,” Google stated.
The Department of Justice is expected to submit a more detailed proposal to the court before November 20th. Google can present its own remedies before December 20th.