The United States Department of Justice wants Google to sell its Chrome browser as part of its final remedy proposal in a historical antimonopoly case.
The proposal, presented on Friday afternoon, says that Google must “quickly and completely get rid of Chrome, along with any necessary assets or service to successfully complete the divestment, to a buyer approved by the plaintiffs to their exclusive criteria, subject to the terms that the Court and the plaintiffs take advantage of.” I would also require Google to stop paying partners for the preferential treatment of their search engine.
The Department of Justice also requires that Google provides a prior notification of any new joint, collaboration or association with any company that competes with Google in search for search texts or search. However, the company no longer has to uninvert its artificial intelligence investments, which was part of an initial set of recommendations issued by the plaintiffs last November. The company would still be required to notify the future investments of AI.
“Through its large size and power without restrictions, Google has stolen consumers and companies of a fundamental promise that owes the public, their right to choose between competitive services,” the Department of Justice accompanies the presentation. “Google’s illegal behavior has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc on the market to ensure that, regardless of what happens, Google always wins.”
The DOJ formally brought its case against Google in 2020, the most significant technological antimingolio case since the battle of the Department of Justice against Microsoft in the 1990s. The demand alleged that Google has used anti -competitive tactics to protect its search domain and forge contracts that ensure that it is the predetermined search engine in web navigators and smart phones. Due to your control over the search, the claim affirmed, Google can adjust the auction system through which ads sells and increase prices for advertisers, and obtain more income from that.
Google has argued that its overwhelming success in the search has a participation of almost 90 percent in the US market) of the company that offers the best search technology. He also says that consumers can easily change their predetermined search engine, and that Google faces Microsoft competition and others.
“The radical proposals of the DOJ continue to see miles beyond the decision of the court, and would damage consumers, the United States national economy and security,” said Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels, in a statement sent by email.
The case went to trial in 2023, and in August 2024, the United States District Judge for the Columbia district, Amit Mehta, ruled that Google has maintained an illegal monopoly, both in general search text ads and in the general search text ads.
Much of the ruling focused on the contracts that Google has with the manufacturers of devices and the browser partners, who use Google as their predetermined search technology. According to Mehta’s decision, about 70 percent of search consultations in the US. UU. Through the portals in which Google is the predetermined search engine. Google then shares income with those partners, paying billions of dollars to them, which discourages the smallest search rivals who cannot compete with those contracts, said Mehta.