The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering significant measures against Google, including a possible requirement for the company to divest its Chrome browser, according to Bloomberg.
The proposal comes after an August 2024 ruling where Judge Amit Mehta determined that Google had engaged in anticompetitive behavior, maintaining its search monopoly through contracts that limited market competition.
Antitrust Ruling Sparks Potential Chrome Separation
In the August ruling, Judge Mehta found Google guilty of violating the Sherman Act by leveraging exclusive agreements to strengthen its search engine’s position as the default choice on many devices.
Contracts with partners like Apple were highlighted as major contributors to this dominance, ensuring Google’s search maintained a nearly unassailable 90% market share while competitors like Microsoft’s Bing languished under 6%.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, testified that even with a $100 billion investment, Bing struggled to compete due to Google’s strategic partnerships, including payments reported to be as high as $20 billion annually to Apple.
Proposed Remedies and Chrome’s Role
Since the August ruling, DOJ officials are collaborating with state attorneys general to push for Google to divest Chrome, which commands over two-thirds of the browser market according to Statcounter.
Chrome’s integration with Google’s ecosystem has long been seen as a tool that reinforces its control over search and online advertising. The DOJ is also looking into other potential remedies, such as unbundling the Android operating system from search services and regulating how Google shares advertising data.
AI Concerns and Publisher Impact
Google’s advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have added complexity to its legal challenges. Gemini, Google’s AI model responsible for more than 25% of its new code, plays a major role in the company’s product development, from enhancing search algorithms to powering AI summaries at the top of search results.
While these AI tools, branded as “AI Overviews,” offer users immediate insights, publishers argue they diminish click-through traffic to their original content. The DOJ may propose that websites be given the option to block their content from being used in these AI summaries without affecting their search rankings.
Epic Games Lawsuit and Android Reforms
The DOJ’s efforts come amid Google’s ongoing appeal of a ruling related to its Play Store. In October, a federal court ruled in favor of Epic Games, mandating that Google allow third-party app stores on Android for at least three years.
The decision will disrupt Google’s established app distribution system, giving platforms like Amazon’s Appstore a chance to compete on more equal footing. Additionally, developers will have greater flexibility in offering alternative payment systems, bypassing Google’s 30% fee on in-app purchases.
Google’s plan to contest this ruling argues that such changes could impact user experience and security, a stance it has used in multiple antitrust defenses. Yelp’s CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, has pointed to these practices as evidence of Google’s ability to stifle competition by inflating ad costs and restricting visibility for smaller platforms.
Internal Shifts Amidst Scrutiny
During a time of mounting pressures, Google has been changing its top leadership. Nick Fox, a seasoned executive, has stepped into the role of head of search and ads, succeeding Prabhakar Raghavan, who moved to the position of chief technologist.
Raghavan’s approach, which emphasized ad revenue, was met with internal criticism for prioritizing profit over user-centric search quality. Emails presented during the DOJ trial revealed that Ben Gomes, a key figure in Google’s search team, had expressed concerns about this shift.
Fox’s task is now to navigate the company through its most turbulent period, balancing innovation and user satisfaction while responding to increasing legal scrutiny and competition from newer platforms like TikTok and search-ad rivals such as Amazon.
