By David McCabe
The Justice Department, in conjunction with several states, has requested that a federal court mandate Google to divest Chrome, its widely-used web browser, a decision that may dramatically change the business landscape for the $2 trillion enterprise and alter online competition.
This request comes in the wake of a pivotal decision made in August by Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which determined that Google had unlawfully sustained a monopoly in online search. Judge Mehta has urged the Justice Department and the states involved in the antitrust litigation to propose remedies by the end of Wednesday to address the search monopoly issue.
In addition to divesting Chrome, the government has requested Mehta to give Google a choice: either sell Android, its mobile operating system, or prevent Google from making its services a requirement on devices that operate using Android. Should Google violate these stipulations, or if the proposed remedies do not enhance competition, the government may subsequently compel the sale of Android.
In an extensive motion, the government also requested the judge to prohibit Google from establishing paid agreements with Apple and other firms to be the default search engine on smartphones and browsers. Furthermore, the court should require Google to permit competing search engines to showcase the company’s results and access its data for a decade, the government asserted.
These proposed measures constitute the most substantial remedies sought in a technology antitrust case since the Justice Department initiated action to dismantle Microsoft in 2000. Should Mehta endorse these proposals, they will likely influence a series of other antitrust cases challenging the supremacy of tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Meta.
Forcing the sale of Chrome and Android would be among the most deleterious outcomes for Google. Chrome, launched in 2008 and available for free, is the leading web browser globally, boasting approximately 67% of the worldwide browser market, as reported by Statcounter, which tracks technology market statistics. Google’s search engine is integrated into Chrome.
Android reigns as the most widely adopted mobile software, holding about 71% of the market share, according to Statcounter. The system is open-source, which means that phone manufacturers like Samsung do not need to compensate Google for its usage. However, the majority of Android devices are preloaded with Google’s applications.
Both platforms are integral to a complex Google ecosystem that encourages users to remain within the company’s product range.
“The competitive landscape is skewed due to Google’s actions, and the quality of Google’s services reflects the undue advantages obtained through illegal means,” the government indicated in its filing. “The remedy must eliminate this disparity and strip Google of these benefits.”
Legal analysts remarked that the appeal to compel the sale of Chrome may face skepticism from Mehta, partly because the government’s earlier breakup attempt of Microsoft in the 2000s was overturned by an appellate court.
“This will be a challenging endeavor for the government,” noted Doug Melamed, a visiting scholar at Stanford Law School who was part of the Justice Department’s antitrust division during the Microsoft litigation.
Google is expected to submit its own proposals for addressing the search monopoly by December 20. Both parties can alter their requests before Mehta anticipates hearing arguments regarding the remedies this spring, with a ruling expected by summer’s end.
Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, described the government’s proposition as “excessive.”
“The Department of Justice’s overwhelmingly broad proposal far exceeds the court’s ruling,” he asserted in a blog entry. “It would dismantle a variety of Google products — extending beyond Search — that users appreciate and find beneficial in their daily lives.”
A spokesperson for the Justice Department opted not to provide any comments.
In recent years, regulators have intensified scrutiny on the influence of the largest tech corporations. The Justice Department has also launched lawsuits against Google for its dominance in advertising technology and against Apple for complicating users’ efforts to exit its tightly integrated ecosystem of devices and software. The Federal Trade Commission has separately initiated lawsuits against Amazon and Meta, accusing them of engaging in anticompetitive practices and suppressing competitors.
It is uncertain if these initiatives will persist under President-elect Donald Trump, as some of the antitrust actions originated during Trump’s initial term.
The government’s success in the Google search case followed a 10-week trial from the previous year. Lawyers from the Justice Department argued that Google had excluded competitors by forming agreements with Apple, Mozilla, Samsung, and others to become the default search engine appearing when users access a smartphone or open a new web browser tab. Evidence presented at the trial indicated that Google paid $26.3 billion as part of these agreements in 2021.
The government contended that these agreements solidified Google’s position, ensuring robust search traffic. The company then utilized the data collected to enhance its search engine, thereby retaining customers.
Google maintained that its agreements did not violate any laws, asserting that users preferred Google because it outperformed search engines like Microsoft’s Bing or DuckDuckGo in retrieving information.
The states and the Justice Department were finalizing their demands right up until the Wednesday deadline to submit their request, as per three individuals familiar with the discussions.
Furthermore, the government urged the judge to mandate Google to divest any investments in AI firms possessing technology that might rival search engines. Generative AI has surfaced as the next significant frontier in the tech sector, and Google has started incorporating its AI into search outcomes.
Google is involved in funding Anthropic, an AI startup developing a chatbot named Claude. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.
Publishers and website operators should also have the capability to opt out of Google’s AI systems using their content for training, the government asserted in its filing.
On Monday, a federal judge will hear final arguments in the second significant antitrust trial against Google — concerning advertising technology — at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
