US prosecutors confirm earlier reports, demand Google sells off Chrome web browser and end default search payments to Apple etc
Alphabet’s worst fears have been confirmed, after US prosecutors on Wednesday officially confirmed earlier reports, and demanded major changes to end Google’s search engine monopoly.
Earlier this week Bloomberg had reported that the US Justice Department (DoJ) planned to ask a judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, which could be worth as much as $20 billion if the judge orders its sale.
Now Reuters has reported that on Wednesday US prosecutors argued before the judge that Google must sell its Chrome browser; share data and search results with rivals; and take a range of other measures to end its monopoly on online search, including addressing its ownership of the Android operating system.
Google monopoly
It comes after a landmark ruling in August by Judge Amit Mehta, who stated “the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”
Judge Mehta found that Google had violated antitrust law by spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and become the world’s default search engine.
Offending measures included paying Apple, Samsung, Mozilla and others billions of dollars to make Google the default search engine on their devices.
Soon after that historic ruling, reports suggested the DoJ was considering a rare antitrust option that could entail the corporate breakup of Google.
This was underscored when the DoJ last month filed court papers, saying it was considering enforcing “structural remedies” to prevent Google from using some its products. This included asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business in order to eliminate its online search monopoly.
Structural remedies
And now this has been confirmed, after DoJ lawyers unveiled a series of “structural remedies” in a court filing late on Wednesday.
The Department of Justice was joined in the filing by a group of US states.
So what exactly is the DoJ proposing that Alphabet’s Google do, in order to end its search engine monopoly?
Chrome
The DoJ in the filing argued that Google must divest itself of the Chrome web browser, to a buyer approved by the US government.
“Google’s ownership and control of Chrome and Android – key methods for the distribution of search engines to consumers – poses a significant challenge to effectuate a remedy…” the DoJ argued.
Google currently controls about 90 percent of the online search market, and the DoJ proposes that Google be banned from re-entering the browser market for five years.
Android Operating System
The DoJ also argued that Google should elect to fully divest Android to a buyer approved by the US government, and if it doesn’t, the government may petition the court to order the divesture of Android.
“As to Android – a critical platform on which search competitors rely and for which Google has myriad obvious and not-so-obvious ways to favor its own search products – there are two options…” argued the DoJ.
“The most straightforward solution – the first option – would be to divest Android, which would prevent Google from using Android to exclude rival search providers,” it said.
“But Plaintiffs recognize that such divestiture may draw significant objections from Google or other market participants. As an alternative to the divestiture of Android, Plaintiffs have presented behavioural remedies that would blunt Google’s ability to use its control of the Android ecosystem to favour its general search services and search text ad monopolies as well as limit Google’s ability to discriminate in favour of its own search and ads businesses.”
Default Search Engine Contracts/Payments
In November 2023 Google admitted paying Apple 36 percent of Safari search revenue, under the terms of a default search agreement.
Indeed it was reported that Google paid Apple $26 billion in 2021 to make its search engine the default option on Apple devices.
And it is not just Apple. Google also pays Samsung, Mozilla and others to make it the default search engine in their devices and web browsers.
Now the DoJ has proposed that Google should be prohibited from making payments to third parties to make Google the default general search engine in their products.
Other demands
There were a number of other demands in the DoJ filing, including one that Google should not enter into a contract with a publisher to license data that provides the search engine giant with exclusivity to the publisher’s content.
Another demand was that Google should not use any assets it owns or operates to give preference to its own search engine, search text ads, or AI products.
And another demand was that Google should be required to license search results to competitors at nominal cost and share data it gathers from users with competitors for free. Google would also be banned from collecting any user data that it cannot share due to privacy concerns.
Google Response
Google has issued its response in a separate article on Silicon UK, found here, but has labelled the DoJ’s structural remedies as a “staggering proposal” that would harm America’s tech leadership.
