The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly considering a groundbreaking move to dismantle Google's sprawling business empire after a recent landmark antitrust ruling found the tech giant guilty of maintaining an illegal monopoly over online search. According to sources familiar with the discussions, DOJ attorneys are exploring various options, including the potential divestiture of key Google assets such as its Android operating system, Chrome web browser, and advertising platform, AdWords.
The DOJ's internal deliberations come on the heels of a decisive ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who last week concluded that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in anticompetitive practices that stifled competition in both the general search services and general text advertising markets. Mehta's ruling identified Google as a "monopolist," pointing to the company's extensive use of lucrative default search engine deals with major partners like Apple, Samsung, and AT&T, which included payments totaling $26.3 billion in 2021 alone.
Among the most discussed options within the DOJ is the forced sale of Google's Android operating system, the world's most widely used mobile platform. Such a move would represent the most significant government-mandated breakup of a tech company in over two decades. The DOJ is also considering less severe measures, such as compelling Google to share data with rival search engines like DuckDuckGo and Microsoft's Bing or imposing restrictions on Google's artificial intelligence products to prevent further entrenchment of its market dominance.
The implications of a potential breakup are profound. A forced divestiture of Android, for instance, could fundamentally reshape the landscape of the mobile operating system market, opening the door for competitors to gain a foothold in a space long dominated by Google. The DOJ's exploration of these options signals the agency's intent to take aggressive action to curb what it views as Google's monopolistic behavior.
"This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine but concludes that we shouldn't be allowed to make it easily available," said Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, in response to Judge Mehta's ruling. Google has already indicated plans to appeal the decision, setting the stage for a prolonged legal battle that could redefine the boundaries of antitrust enforcement in the digital age.
The DOJ's consideration of breaking up Google marks the first time since its antitrust victory against Microsoft in the late 1990s that the federal government has seriously entertained the idea of dismantling a major tech company. While the DOJ ultimately decided against breaking up Microsoft in 2001, the current climate of heightened scrutiny toward Big Tech could lead to a different outcome for Google.
As the DOJ prepares to outline its proposed remedies during the second phase of the court proceedings, set to begin in September, the prospect of a Google breakup is sending ripples through the tech industry and financial markets. Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its shares fall by more than 1% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, underscoring investor concerns about the potential fallout from the DOJ's actions.
The DOJ's antitrust case against Google has its roots in a broader push to rein in the power of tech giants, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years amid growing concerns about the influence of companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has been a vocal critic of Google's business practices, accusing the company of engaging in "anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful" conduct that has "severely weakened if not destroyed competition in the ad tech industry."
