US Justice Department may break up Google over antitrust violations

A federal court has ruled that Google violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a monopoly in internet search, U.S. Justice Department officials have begun deliberations on potential remedies to address these violations.

Sources familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the process, revealed that officials are exploring various proposals. These include the possibility of breaking off parts of Google's business, such as its Chrome browser or Android smartphone operating system, the New York Times reports.

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Other options under consideration involve mandating that Google make its data available to competitors or abandoning deals that have made its search engine the default option on devices like the iPhone. The government is reportedly consulting with other companies and experts to gather input on ways to curtail Google's market power.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over the case, has set a September 4 deadline for the Justice Department and Google to propose a process for determining appropriate remedies. A hearing to discuss next steps is scheduled for September 6.

The August 5 ruling, which found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over general online search services and related advertising, marks a significant moment in antitrust enforcement in the tech industry.

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The decision raises questions about the market dominance of other tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Meta, all of which face their own antitrust scrutiny.

For Google, a company that built a $2 trillion business largely on the back of its search engine, the stakes are particularly high. Any remedies imposed could potentially reshape the core of the company's business model, which generated $175 billion in revenue from search and related businesses last year.

A Justice Department spokesman stated, "The Justice Department is evaluating the court's decision. No decisions have been made at this time." Google, which has pledged to appeal the ruling, declined to comment on the ongoing discussions.

DuckDuckGo, a smaller competitor in the search engine market claiming to have been negatively impacted by Google's dominance, recently put forward a set of proposals aimed at leveling the competitive landscape.

Their suggestions include prohibiting agreements that set Google as the default search engine on devices, sharing Google's search and advertising expertise with rivals, implementing user-friendly interfaces for changing search engines, and launching public education initiatives about search engine selection.

The privacy-focused search engine emphasized that these changes should be overseen by an independent panel of technical experts to ensure proper implementation.

"There is no silver bullet," DuckDuckGo said in a statement. "Truly fixing the entrenched competitive imbalance that Google's default advantage has afforded them will require a mixture of interventions."