The US government has formally proposed a partial breakup of Google, urging a federal judge to force a sale of the company’s Chrome web browser. This move comes after a landmark ruling earlier this year that found Google in violation of US antitrust law with its search business.
The Justice Department and a group of states have requested significant antitrust penalties for Google, targeting not only its illegal monopoly in search but also its growing ambitions in artificial intelligence. If approved, these penalties could revolutionize how Americans search for information and potentially disrupt the integration among many of Google’s key products and services.
The case focused on whether Google's tactics to make its search engine the default in Chrome, iPhones, Android devices, and more were anticompetitive, shutting out smaller search engines from the market. The government lawyers argue that a spinoff of Chrome could prevent an illegal monopoly from recurring.
The proposed penalties include requiring Google to syndicate its US search results to rival search engines for the next decade and imposing restrictions to prevent possible future harm. The DOJ also calls for giving websites the option not to have their data collected for training Google’s AI tools.
The case, initiated in 2020 and continued under President Biden, alleged that Google used multiple tactics to block out competitors in search, leaving consumers with limited choices. The court found Google in violation of the Sherman Act, labeling it as a monopolist that has acted to maintain its monopoly.
The DOJ’s submission initiates a fact-finding process expected to culminate in a hearing in April, with a final decision anticipated later in 2025. The proposed remedies seek to resolve the most significant antitrust lawsuit against a tech giant since the Microsoft case in the 1990s.
The parallels between the Microsoft and Google cases are evident, with both involving allegations of anticompetitive practices. The proposed remedies aim to address Google’s dominance in search and its impact on competition in the tech industry.
