DOJ may force Google to sell Chrome, Android to break up online search monopoly

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is contemplating the breakup of Google as an online search monopoly and forcing it to sell Chrome and Android. A federal judge would have to initiate the suit against the big tech firm.

In a Tuesday court filing, the DOJ also said the judge could extract from Google the foundational data that it uses to operate the best known search engine in the world as well as its new artificial intelligence options, according to the AP.

"For more than a decade, Google has controlled the most popular distribution channels, leaving rivals with little-to-no incentive to compete for users," the DOJ’s antitrust section wrote in the filing. "Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google's control of distribution today, but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow."

To prevent that, the DOJ said it could move to stop Google from maintaining control over a wide variety of tech products such as its ownership of the internet Chrome browser, Android smart phone system, AI products or the Google Play Store. Prosecutors are also examining whatever agreements Google has established with other search agents and possibly seek to regulate those arrangements.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, responded to the filing and said the DOJ was "already signaling requests that go far beyond the specific legal issues" by considering to move forward. "Government overreach in a fast-moving industry may have negative unintended consequences for American innovation and America's consumers."

"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," Mulholland said.

In an August decision, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google's search engine is effectively illegal because it uses its near monopoly to crush its competitors and stifle innovation from other companies. The judge plans to move ahead with a trial to force Google to change the way it operates, with a final decision by August 2025.

Google has already announced that it will appeal Mehta’s ruling but it can’t do that until the judge issues a final decree. The DOJ is also suing Visa for its alleged monopoly over debit cards and machines. Former President Donald Trump is promising to prosecute Google over election interference if he is reelected in the November presidential election.