The US Justice Department has set Google straight . On Tuesday evening, prosecutors filed a brief proposing sweeping measures to remedy Google’s violations on several fronts. As a precedent, Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling last summer against Google for abusing its dominant position in the search market — engaging in monopolistic conduct -.
Now, as a continuation of the trial, the tech giant must face the consequences and the judicial authority must litigate on what are the appropriate remedies to combat this conduct. Thus, this new resolution anticipates that structural measures will be considered, which may include the sale or separation of part of the tech giant’s business.
The prosecutors are also seeking to ban deals that involve installing Google’s search engine by default on other browsers — including those on iPhones — and to require the company to provide access to the underlying data it uses to build its search results and AI products. “Plaintiffs are considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products like Chrome [its browser], Play [its app store], and Android [its operating system] to favor Google Search and Google Search-related products and features — including access points and emerging search features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants,” the filing said.
In response to the document, Google wrote on its blog that the proposal is “radical and sweeping,” arguing that it could have unforeseen negative consequences “for innovation and American consumers.” The company says that forcing them to share search queries, clicks, and results with competitors not only puts users’ privacy and security at risk, but says that “separating Chrome or Android would break them,” among other things.
«We have invested billions of dollars in Chrome and Android. Let’s be clear: separating them would change their business models, increase the cost of devices, and weaken Android and Google Play in their fierce competition with the iPhone and Apple’s App Store,» the tech giant added.
While a final decision from Mehta is not expected until next summer, the next step, according to the set schedule, will be to fine-tune its proposals in November and then March 2025. “Google’s unlawful conduct persisted for more than a decade and involved a series of self-reinforcing tactics,” the Justice Department clarifies. “Undoing this behavior [sic] and achieving the goals of an effective antitrust solution requires time, information (particularly given the information asymmetries between the plaintiffs and Google), and careful consideration,” according to the document.
Google is currently facing another lawsuit, also against the Justice Department, alleging triple monopoly, this time in the digital advertising market. Plaintiffs are seeking remedies to address harms in four categories: those related to Google’s search distribution and revenue-sharing arrangements; the accumulation and use of data; the generation and display of search results; and the scale and monetization of advertising.
For now, the suggested remedies could complicate the management of the mega-company to unimaginable levels, so prosecutors could be considering additional measures. For its part, Google has already said that it plans to appeal the judge’s decision, although, for the moment, it must wait for a concrete ruling to be issued.
Judging by what has been seen, the case has the potential to become a long story in court.
