U.S. Said to Consider a Breakup of Google to Address Search Monopoly

Google was found last week to have violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a monopoly in internet search. Now discussions over how to fix those violations have begun. Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against the search giant, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving
U.S. Said to Consider a Breakup of Google to Address Search Monopoly

Google was found last week to have violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a monopoly in internet search. Now discussions over how to fix those violations have begun.

Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against the search giant, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving the agency and state attorneys general who helped to bring the case. They are discussing various proposals, including breaking off parts of Google, such as its Chrome browser or Android smartphone operating system, two of the people said.

Other scenarios under consideration include forcing Google to make its data available to rivals, or mandating that it abandon deals that made its search engine the default option on devices like the iPhone, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential. The government is meeting with other companies and experts to discuss their proposals for limiting Google’s power, the people said.

The deliberations are in their early stages. Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has asked the Justice Department and Google to come up with a process for determining a fix in the case by Sept. 4. He has scheduled a hearing on Sept. 6 to discuss next steps.

,

Last week’s ruling that Google was a monopolist was a landmark antitrust decision, raising serious questions about the power of tech giants in the modern internet era. Apple, Amazon and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, also face antitrust cases. Google is scheduled to go to trial in another antitrust case — this one over ad technology — next month. Any remedies in Google’s search case are likely to reverberate and influence that broader landscape.

The stakes are acutely high for Google, which became a $2 trillion internet juggernaut by building an online advertising business and others on top of its search engine. Judge Mehta could reshape the core of the company’s business or order it to abandon longtime practices that have helped to cement its dominance. Google generated $175 billion in revenue from its search engine and related businesses last year.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts

Bedridden boy, 10, starves to death after troubled mom suffers fatal OD inside NYC home: sources

A bedridden 10-year-old boy with a feeding tube apparently starved to death after his troubled mother — who faced several city Administration for Children’s Services cases — fatally overdosed in their Bronx apartment, leaving him alone without help, law-enforcement sources said Thursday. The pair’s decomposing bodies were found late Wednesday by NYPD officers responding to a
Katie Ledecky Becomes Most Decorated US Female Olympian With 13th Medal
Read More

Katie Ledecky Becomes Most Decorated US Female Olympian With 13th Medal

Forbes Business Breaking Katie Ledecky Becomes Most Decorated US Female Olympian With 13th Medal Molly Bohannon Forbes Staff Molly Bohannon has been a Forbes news reporter since 2023. Following Aug 1, 2024, 04:23pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Swimmer Katie Ledecky secured her 13th Olympic medal on Thursday in
Stock markets mostly rise as focus turns to interest rates
Read More

Stock markets mostly rise as focus turns to interest rates

Major stock markets mostly advanced Monday as investors looked ahead to key interest-rate decisions this week in the United States and elsewhere. Leading Asian and European indices largely gained following last week’s volatility caused by mixed earnings and big selling of technology stocks. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Japan’s central bank are