Senior officials of the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice have decided to ask a judge to force Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc. sell your Chrome browser. This could be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s largest technology companies.
Senior officials of the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice have decided to ask a judge to force Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc. sell your Chrome browser. This could be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s largest technology companies.
According to Bloomberg, citing its own sources, the department will ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, to require measures related to artificial intelligence and the operating system for Android smartphones.
In addition, antitrust officials, as well as states that have joined the case, plan to recommend Wednesday to federal judge Amit Mehta that the data licensing requirements be imposed.
If Mehta accepts the proposals, they could revolutionize the online search market and the burgeoning AI industry. The case was brought under the first Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden. It is the most aggressive attempt to rein in the technology company since Washington tried unsuccessfully to split Microsoft Corp. two decades ago.
Owning the world’s most popular web browser is key to Google’s advertising business. The company can see the activities of users who are logged in and use this data to more effectively target the promotions that generate the bulk of its revenue. Google is also using Chrome to direct users to its flagship artificial intelligence product Gemini, which has the potential to transform from an answering bot into an assistant that follows users around the web.
Lee-Ann Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said the Justice Department «continues to advance a radical agenda that goes well beyond the legal issues in this case.» She added that «a government that puts its thumb on the scales in this way will hurt consumers, developers and America’s technology leadership at a time when it is most needed.»
The Justice Department declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Government lawyers met with dozens of companies over the past three months as they prepared the recommendation. States are still considering adding some of the offerings, and some details could change, sources said.
It is also noted that antitrust authorities have rejected a stricter option that would have forced Google to sell Android.
Mehta’s ruling in August that Google violated antitrust laws in both the online search and search text advertising markets followed a 10-week trial last year. The company said it plans to appeal.
The judge scheduled a two-week hearing in April on what changes Google must make to correct the illegal behavior, and plans to issue a final ruling by August 2025.
The agency and the states reached a conclusion to recommend that Google be required to license the results and data of its popular search engine and give websites more options to prevent their content from being used by Google’s artificial intelligence products.
Antitrust authorities intend to ask Google to separate its Android smartphone operating system from its other products, including search and the Google Play mobile app store, which are currently sold as a bundle. They are also ready to demand that Google provide more information to advertisers and give them more control over where their ads appear.
A forced spin-off, if it happens, will also depend on finding an interested buyer. Those who could afford and might want the property, such as Amazon.com Inc., also face antitrust scrutiny that could prevent such a megadeal.
When it comes to licensing the data, the antitrust authorities plan to offer two options: Google will sell basic «clicks and queries» data, as well as separately aggregate its search results, the people said.
The company currently sells syndicated search results, but with restrictions, such as banning them from being used on mobile devices. Forcing Google to aggregate its search results would allow competing search engines and AI startups to quickly improve their quality, and the data feed would allow others to build their own search index.
