The US Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its tech empire to combat its online search monopoly.
The US government had filed court papers saying it is considering asking a court to introduce remedies that could include “structural requirements” to stop Google maintaining its market dominance, in a move that could fundamentally shift how one of the world’s biggest companies operates.
The announcement comes after a landmark court ruling in August that found Google’s search engine had been illegally exploiting its dominance to hold back competition and stifle innovation.
The US government said it was now considering suggesting remedies that would “prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google Search and Google Search-related products”.
In its court papers, federal prosecutors said: “For more than a decade, Google has controlled the most popular distribution channels, leaving rivals with little to no incentive to compete for users.
“Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google’s control of distribution today but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow.”
Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said in response to the filing that the Department of Justice was “already signalling requests that go far beyond the specific legal issues” in this case.
She added: “Government over-reach in a fast-moving industry may have negative unintended consequences for American innovation and America’s consumers.”
It could be years before any resolution in the case is reached, as Google has already said it plans to appeal the initial ruling, but the tech giant must wait until Judge Amit Mehta finalises his remedies through a trial currently planned for next spring, with a decision then due by August 2025.
Google’s planned appeal process could then take as long as five years, according to George Hay, a law professor at Cornell University who was the chief economist for the US Justice Department’s antitrust division for most of the 1970s.
Ben Barringer, technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot said it would be a “long drawn-out process” but the US government’s decision was a “shot across the now” of Google and its parent firm, Alphabet.
“The Department of Justice in the US has delivered its first strike in its attempt to curb Alphabet’s search engine power,” he said.
“It has cast the net fairly wide in its list of potential remedies but for now the detail remains incredibly shallow. The share price was unmoved on the news, as the proposed range of remedies was in line with fears.
“Ultimately this is the opening salvo and the more extreme elements proposed may or may not remain.
“Ultimately the Department of Justice is looking to level the playing field in search, and given Google’s scale it is no surprise to see things such as divestment and opening up data on the cards for change.
“If these changes were to take effect it would be a huge change in how people and businesses use and interact with the internet in their daily lives, so this is clearly a high-stakes game of poker just now.
“But for now not a lot changes, and this will put a lid on investor enthusiasm for Alphabet for this year and most of next, until more is known. Next month sees the next stage of the process with the Department of Justice’s final remedy package revealed before it goes before judges in April.
“Simply put this will be a long drawn-out process with lots of negotiation still to take place. However, the DoJ has fired a shot across the bow of Alphabet.”
The announcement is the latest clampdown on Google in the US.
Earlier this week, a judge in a separate case ordered the company to open up its app store to rivals to remedy what the court called an “illegal monopoly” in that sector.
Other US tech giants, including Meta, Amazon and Apple are also facing lawsuits in their home country as the government looks to strengthen competition in the sector.
