Earlier this August, United States courts ruled that Google is an illegal monopoly, but stopped short of instituting any penalties. Now, the Department of Justice is outlining some pretty ambitious goals, the most demanding of which would require Google to sell off Chrome.
The drama all stems back to Google search and the company’s decision to pay billions to Apple and other internet browser developers to make Google their default search engine. If you were around during Microsoft’s Internet Explorer antitrust case in 2001, it’s a similar deal here, with both companies being accused of anticompetitive behavior and threatened with a breakup.
Microsoft’s breakup never came to fruition, with the government instead choosing to settle with the Windows maker, but for now at least, it appears to DOJ is coming after Google with full force.
In a 23-page document filed late Wednesday afternoon, the DOJ recommended that courts require Google sell off the Chrome browser, and possibly Android, too, if the company doesn't follow restrictions that would keep Google from favoring its own search tools within the mobile operating system. The move comes as a bit of a surprise, as neither product is directly related to the key issue of Google paying other companies to prioritize Google search within their ecosystems.
Defending its aggressive proposal, the DOJ argues that breaking up Google would also have the desired effect, saying that selling Chrome “will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet.”
In other words, if Chrome is no longer associated with Google, it will no longer have any impetus to default to Google search, perhaps giving other search engines a chance to get their foot in the door of what has become the default internet browser for many.
At the same time, this alone would not stop Google from simply continuing to pay browser makers (including Chrome's potential new owners) off, so the DOJ is also asking the government to prohibit the company from offering compensation (whether monetary or otherwise) to browser makers to make Google the default search engine in their browsers.
Similarly, the DOJ’s restrictions would also stop Google from prioritizing its search tools within Gemini or other platforms it retains access to, as well as require Google to make data such as search results and ranking signals accessible to other companies at “marginal cost, and on an ongoing basis” for at least a decade.
Finally, the company would have to allow websites to keep their data from being used in AI Overviews without being punished in search rankings.
In a blog post responding to the DOJ’s demands, Google President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker called the proposal “wildly overboard.”
Walker accuses the DOJ of sidestepping the issue at hand to pursue “a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership.” Specifically, Google says the demands would “break a range of Google products,” introducing risks to security, multiple choice screen popups, and rules that would “deliberately hobble people’s ability to access Google Search.” The company also warns that such oversight could “chill our investment in artificial intelligence” or force Google to disclose data to “unknown foreign and domestic companies,” including “Americans’ personal search queries.” According to Google, the proposal would also affect companies like nonprofit Firefox maker Mozilla, which Walker says “depend on charging Google for Search placement.”
Despite Walker’s concerns, any consequences from Google’s trial are still far out. The DOJ’s proposal is still in its initial stages, with a revised version planned for March, prior to court proceedings kicking off in April. Google says it will file its own proposals next month, and regardless of the court’s outcome, an appeal is still on the board. As with Microsoft at the turn of the millennium, it’s still possible Google could avoid a breakup.
While the DOJ’s proposal is harsher than expected, it’s also not an uncommon debate tactic to ask for more than you want, so expect to see finer details in spring of next year.
Should you be worried if the DOJ’s proposal goes through and Google is forced to sell Chrome or alter its products? Right now, it’s hard to say, although the DOJ’s demands mention an oversight committee that would presumably aid with the transition.
Despite Google’s doomsaying, the most immediate effect you’re likely to see as a consumer is more choice, although perhaps at the cost of more annoyance. Google products will be less likely to naturally flow into each other, with a few more popups showing up while setting up a Pixel smartphone, for instance. But on the flip side, you’ll also likely be able to adjust your defaults without diving into settings quite as much as you have to do now.
As for Chrome, it’s possible a sale could help counteract Google search’s dominance in the marketplace, although a Google-less version of the browser could see features like native Google Lens support being dropped, making it less useful. Similarly, user data could be less secure in another company’s hands, although Google’s record isn’t exactly spotless there.
Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room surrounding Google’s trial is that it will take place under a new administration. While the Biden White House applauded the Courts’ decision to name Google an illegal monopoly, President-elect Trump’s position on the issue is less clear. While the DOJ’s case against Google was filed during the final months of Trump’s first term, Trump has also suggested in the past that his administration might seek to make Google “more fair” without “breaking it up.”
For now, the best way Chrome and Android users can protect their data is to keep an eye on the trial once it gets underway in April.
