Department of Justice examining \u2018structural remedies\u2019 to challenge tech corporation\u2019s internet search monopoly<\/b>
\nThe US government may ask a judge to force the breakup of Google\u2019s business as it attempts to challenge the tech corporation\u2019s monopoly over the internet search market.
The Department of Justice has filed court papers that say it is considering enforcing \u201cstructural remedies\u201d that would prevent Google from using some of its products such as Chrome, Android and Play, which the DoJ argues give the company an advantage over rivals.
Other actions being considered include blocking Google from paying to have its search engine pre-installed on smartphones and other devices.
Google, which is owned by Alphabet, said it would challenge any case by the DoJ and that the proposals marked an \u201coverreach\u201d by the government that would harm consumers.
The latest filing comes after a court ruling in August in favour of the DoJ that found Google, which controls 90% of the global search market, had violated antitrust laws and spent billions building up an illegal monopoly. The ruling paved the way for the current lawsuit by the justice department that will rule on potential actions to counteract Google\u2019s market domination.
The filing said Google\u2019s conduct had resulted in \u201cinterlocking and pernicious harms\u201d to users, and the importance of restoring competition to a market, which was \u201cindispensable\u201d to Americans, could not be overstated.
The judgment said: \u201cPlaintiffs are considering behavioural and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features \u2013 including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence \u2013over rivals or new entrants.\u201d
The move may also prevent Google from being able to pay major phone companies such as Apple and Samsung for Chrome to be the default browser on their devices. In 2021, Google paid companies $26.3bn to ensure its search engine was the default option in the products.
The filing said: \u201cFor more than a decade, Google has controlled the most popular distribution channels, leaving rivals with little to no incentive to compete for users. Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google\u2019s control of distribution today, but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow.\u201d
Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google\u2019s vice-president for regulatory affairs, said the DoJ\u2019s \u201cradical and sweeping\u201d proposals risked hurting consumers, businesses and developers.
She said: \u201cThis case is about a set of search distribution contracts. Rather than focus on that, the government seems to be pursuing a sweeping agenda that will impact numerous industries and products, with significant unintended consequences for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness.\u201d
The DoJ is expected to submit a more detailed set of proposals by 20 November, with Google to submit its proposed remedies by 20 December.<\/p>\n