DOJ wants to limit Google’s dominance and restore competition

Alphabet’s Google and US regulators will present their last arguments this Friday on whether measures, such as divesting the Chrome browser, are necessary to reignite competition in online search.

After a judge ruled in 2024 that Google wields unlawful dominance over internet search and its related advertising market, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of states have urged remedies aimed at dismantling Google’s advantages. Those proposals include forcing Google to offload Chrome, end lucrative default-search payments to device makers, and share critical search data with rivals.

DOJ wants to limit Google’s dominance and restore competition

In the “remedies” phase that began on April 21, DOJ attorneys pressed the court to impose sweeping sanctions. They argue that Google’s multibillion-dollar agreements with Apple, Samsung, and wireless carriers, designed to cement Google as the preset search engine on new devices, have effectively shut out competitors and must be halted.

Beyond prohibiting such default arrangements, the government is demanding that Google sell off its ubiquitous Chrome browser and license its core search technology, including the Chromium open-source codebase.

Central to the DOJ’s arguments is the notion that Google’s control of Chrome funnels massive user traffic to its own search engine, reinforcing its dominance and choking off emerging players.

By breaking Google’s grip on the browser, regulators believe rival search engines and emerging artificial intelligence tools will gain a fairer chance to access the billions of queries that fuel next-generation AI models.

Indeed, during the trial, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT product, Nick Turley, testified that his company would eagerly acquire Chrome and license Google’s search index and query logs to bolster its own AI responses.

Regulators stress that, without these interventions, Google will perpetuate its monopoly not only in search but also in the rapidly evolving generative AI landscape.

Google has defended its position by offering an alternative

Unsurprisingly, Google has vehemently opposed the DOJ’s blueprint, branding the remedies “unprecedented” and overstepping what the court’s liability finding warrants. Company lawyers contend that forced divestiture of Chrome would compromise browser security and undermine user experience, rendering a spun-off version of Chrome “insecure and obsolete.”

They warn that mandating the sharing of private search data with third parties would jeopardize users’ privacy and expose sensitive information to entities lacking Google’s rigorous security protocols.

Instead of full-scale divestitures, Google has offered a more modest set of concessions. These include terminating exclusive search-default contracts with device manufacturers, allowing rival services to be preloaded alongside Google’s own, and establishing an external oversight committee to monitor Google’s distribution agreements and business conduct.

Through adopting these “light-touch” remedies, the company argues, competition can be nurtured without sacrificing consumer protections or technological innovation.

US District Judge Amit Mehta, who has presided over the case since it opened in April, has indicated he will issue a ruling on the proposed remedies by August. Following his decision, Google is expected to seek a stay, temporarily suspending any ordered changes while it pursues an appeal of the underlying 2024 judgment that found Google violated antitrust laws.

Even as this trial concludes, Google still faces additional scrutiny on multiple fronts. The DOJ is probing a potential antitrust breach in Google’s partnership with Character.AI, and separate litigation accusing Google of monopolistic practices in online advertising technology has already produced an adverse ruling.

For now, however, all eyes are on Judge Mehta’s upcoming determination—a decision that could reshape the digital marketplace and set a precedent for how regulators tame the power of tech behemoths.

KEY Difference Wire: the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage