The Department of Justice wants Google to divest the Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market. They also left the door open to requiring the company to divest Android as well.
The initial proposed final judgment was filed late Wednesday in DC district Court. This judgment refines the DOJ’s earlier solutions after Judge Amit Mehta found Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and search text advertisement.
There are a lot of requirements in this filing that the DOJ hopes the court will impose on Google. These changes would end the monopoly of Google search.
As of now, Google controls about 90% of the online search market.
Here is what the Department of Justice said in a court filing.
”Google’s unlawful behavior has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways.”
According to the requirements filed on Wednesday, the DOJ demands that Google cannot re-enter the browser market for five years. They are also insisting that Google sell its Android mobile operating system as well if other remedies fail to restore competition. The DOJ has also requested a prohibition on Google from buying or investing in any search rivals, query-based AI products.
They also want Google to end exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device manufacturers to make its search engine default on their devices.
Google will have a chance to put their case again in December. The Trial on the proposals is scheduled for April.
However, President-elect Donald Trump and the DOJ’s next head could step in by then and change the course of this investigation.
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