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US Considers Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case

For the first time in four decades, since the AT&T breakup into Baby Bells, the US government is considering dismantling one of the world’s largest and most impactful monopolies: Google.

On Tuesday night, the US Department of Justice suggested in a court document that it might propose splitting Google’s main operations, isolating its search engine from other services like Android, Chrome, and the Google Play app store.

The government stated in its filing that such a move would stop Google from favoring its search engine and related products, like AI and new search technologies, using platforms like Chrome, Play, and Android, over its competitors and newcomers.

In response, Google labeled the government’s potential action as “extreme” in a blog post, claiming it would degrade user experience by potentially “breaking” Android and Chrome, stalling AI advancements, and forcing the company to expose private data to its rivals, thus risking user privacy.

In its blog post, Google described the issue as centered on search distribution agreements.

However, it criticized the government for pursuing a broad agenda that could negatively affect many industries and products, potentially leading to significant adverse impacts on consumers, businesses, and American competitive edge.

This recommendation by the Justice Department follows a federal judge’s August ruling that Google’s practices with its search business violated US antitrust laws.

The judge labeled Google as a monopolist in a ruling that may reshape how Google operates its foundational business and how millions of Americans access information online.

This case focuses on Google’s exclusive, multi-billion-dollar agreements with other tech companies, like Apple, to set Google as the default search engine on various devices and browsers. Judge Amit Mehta found these agreements to be anticompetitive.

This case has been marked as the most significant tech antitrust case since the government’s legal challenge against Microsoft at the start of the millennium.

In August, Google announced its intention to appeal the ruling, maintaining, as it had argued in court, that its search engine remains the most popular because it is superior.

Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, emphasized on X that Google’s priority would continue to be developing useful and user-friendly products as the legal process unfolds.

The Justice Department’s suggestion begins a new legal phase to determine the consequences Google will face. This, along with Google’s appeal, could extend the legal proceedings for several months or even years.

The outcome of this case could influence potential remedies in other ongoing antitrust cases against major tech firms.

In a separate legal battle, Google is being challenged by DOJ lawyers and 17 states over claims that its advertising operations are anti-competitive. Other tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Ticketmaster are also involved in similar antitrust disputes.