The US Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to break up Google’s internet search engine after it declared it an illegal monopoly, according to a court filing. It is one of the proposals to resolve the issue.
Google, a giant in online search and digital advertising, is the first US tech company in decades to face a federal court challenge over antitrust concerns.
Late Tuesday night this week, the Justice Department presented recommendations for Google’s search engine business practices, indicating that the possibility of breaking up the company is under consideration, although less dramatic solutions are more likely.
In court papers filed last week, US attorneys outlined possible steps the government could take, including restricting how Google uses information from other websites to display its AI results and barring Google from paying billions of dollars to Apple and other companies, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The main concern in this case is that Google has paid billions of dollars to Apple and other companies to keep Google as the default search engine, such as on iPhones and Android phones. This means that when consumers buy new devices, they do not have the opportunity to choose any search engine other than Google. This move by Google reduces competition in the market.
The Department of Justice says that Google’s policy and its market dominance are illegal because they prevent competition and do not provide a level playing field in the Internet search market. They argue that Google’s agreements and its massive dominance have severely harmed other search engine companies, and have given consumers fewer opportunities to access alternative search engines.
The Justice Department and other government agencies are considering whether breaking up Google or limiting its exclusive contracting ability is the only solution to the problem so that real competition can be restored to the market.
Moreover, Google’s entire advertising model is also under discussion, which gives the company disproportionate control over display and banner advertising. As a result, breaking up the company could reduce dependence and improve the competitive environment, with the aim of giving small businesses and other tech companies a chance.
The case came to light in 2020, when the US Department of Justice launched legal action against Google, alleging that Google was maintaining its dominance through unfair means, and as a result, severely harming competition in the digital advertising and search engine markets. Google’s monopoly has become so widespread that a large number of users are unable to use any search engine other than Google.
The case is part of a growing push by the US government against big tech companies, aiming to break up their monopolies and restore fair competition. A ruling against Google in this case could potentially force the company to break up or make significant changes to its market policies.
Google is back in court this fall, facing allegations of unfair behavior in the ad technology market. And in late 2023, a jury found Google guilty in a business practices lawsuit involving the Google Play app store. The initial challenge was filed by Epic Games in 2020. In September 2024, Epic filed an additional antitrust lawsuit against Google and Samsung, alleging that the company continued to abuse its monopoly power and unfairly harmed competition.
Following the Epic ruling, a US judge on Monday issued a permanent injunction that would force Google to offer alternatives to Google Play for downloading apps on Android phones.
“They must be broken to pave the way for future innovation and ultimately for American democracy,” said Nicholas Goggenberger, a law professor at the University of Houston.
While the likelihood of breaking up Google is slim, some on Wall Street believe such a move could unlock value for shareholders as the company competes for market share in emerging technologies like cloud computing and generative AI.
The document submitted on Tuesday last week is the first step in proposing changes to the company that has been synonymous with search engines for decades.
The document stated that for decades, Google had established a complete monopoly over popular channels for delivering information on the Internet, which made it difficult for its competitors to compete with Google for the benefit of consumers. The court filing stated that in order to change these conditions, it is not only necessary to remove Google’s control over this delivery, but also to ensure that Google cannot establish such a monopoly in the future.
In August this year, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google’s search engine had been illegally taking advantage of its dominance in the field, stifling competition and stifling innovation. He set a timeline for resolving the situation, with proposals to be submitted by next spring, and he plans to rule on the case by August 2025.
According to Judge Mehta’s August opinion, Google controls about 88 percent of the online general search market. The Justice Department’s initial complaint, filed in October 2020, says that developing a legitimate alternative to Google Search would cost billions of dollars and require millions of dollars in annual expenses. Alternative web search engines, such as Microsoft’s Bang or the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo, have not had any significant success against Google’s Alphabet company despite years of efforts.
“During this trial, we heard a lot of people say that Google search has gotten a lot worse over the past decade,” said Lee Heppner, senior legal counsel for the American Economic Liberties Project. The group has filed “friends of the court” lawsuits to challenge Google’s activities in the App Store and other properties.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, plans to appeal the decision. On the other hand, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee Ann Mullen-Holland, commented on the Justice Department’s court filing, saying that the administration’s requests fall outside the legal issues raised in the case. She said that the government’s overstepping its authority would hurt America’s ability to innovate in this rapidly changing industry and impact American consumers.
Google says it will appeal Amit Mehta’s decision. But the company will have to wait for the proposals to be agreed to. The legal battle could take another five years to complete once the company appeals, says George Hay, a law professor at Cornell University. Hay was the chief economist for the US Justice Department’s antitrust division in the 1970s.
Much of the evidence during the lengthy court trial in Washington, D.C., focused on how Google had made agreements with other technology companies to ensure that Google remained the primary or default search engine for their users. According to testimony at the trial, Google spent $26 billion in 2021 alone to maintain these agreements.