Following its historic antitrust case against Google, the US is considering a series of proposed solutions, including breaking up the company. In the case filed in 2020, federal judge Amit Mehta found that Google had an illegal monopoly in the search and text advertising markets. Now, lawyers at the US Department of Justice are considering a variety of structural and behavioral measures to break up this dominance and restore competition. These options include radical steps such as breaking up or selling off Google’s different business lines.
Google could officially be dismantled
The 32-page document submitted by the department includes proposals such as divesting divisions such as Chrome, Android or Google Play, or opening up Google’s search engine indexes, data and artificial intelligence models to competitors. These steps would not only lead to a major decline in Google’s revenues, but also create new opportunities for its competitors to grow. In addition, ending the agreements under which Google pre-installs its search engine by default is among the measures being considered. For example, it is known that Google pays Apple and other device manufacturers $26.3 billion per year for such agreements.
Google, on the other hand, argues that these proposals are excessive and radical, emphasizing that it owes its current position to providing quality products and services. The company points out that Chrome and Android are free products, claiming that they serve a wide range of users and that no one has the capacity to make such an investment.
While the Justice Department is expected to submit a more detailed settlement proposal by November 20, Google will also have the opportunity to submit its own defense proposals by December 20.
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