Washington:
The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown against the internet giant.
In a lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice has urged a shakeup of Google’s operations, including banning deals for Google as the default search engine on smartphones and preventing Google from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.
Antitrust officials said in the filing that Google must also sell Android if the proposed solutions do not prevent the tech company from using its control over the mobile operating system to its advantage.
The call for Google’s breakup marks a profound change among U.S. government regulators, who have largely left the tech giants alone since failing to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google is expected to make recommendations in a filing next month and both sides will argue their cases at an April hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta.
Regardless of Judge Mehta’s final decision, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, prolonging the trial for years and potentially leaving the final say to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Things could also be turned upside down by the arrival of newly elected President Donald Trump to the White House in January.
His administration will likely replace the current team in charge of the DOJ’s antitrust division.
The newcomers can choose to continue the case, seek a settlement with Google, or drop the case altogether.
Trump has played hot and cold in how to deal with Google and the dominance of big tech companies.
He has accused the search engine of being biased towards conservative content, but has also indicated that a forced breakup of the company would be too much of a demand from the US government.
Too extreme?
Determining how to address Google’s mistakes is the next phase of the historic antitrust trial that saw the company win a monopoly by Judge Mehta in August.
Google has dismissed the idea of a breakup as “radical.”
Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industrial trade group Chamber of Progress, said the government’s demands were “fantastic” and breached legal standards. Instead, he called for tailor-made solutions.
The trial, which concluded last year, scrutinized Google’s confidential agreements with smartphone makers, including Apple.
These deals involve substantial payments to secure Google’s search engine as the default option on browsers, iPhones and other devices.
The judge ruled that the arrangement gave Google unparalleled access to user data, allowing it to build its search engine into a globally dominant platform.
From this position, Google expanded its technology and data collection empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
According to the ruling, Google controlled 90 percent of the U.S. online search market in 2020, with an even larger share, 95 percent, on mobile devices.
The US government currently has five cases pending against big tech over antitrust concerns, after the Biden administration took a tough stance on curbing the companies’ dominance.
If the cases against Amazon, Meta and Apple, as well as two against Google, are pursued by the Trump administration, the proceedings could take years.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)