LogInThe potential demerger could be enforced by the same judge who earlier ruled Google to be a monopolist.
In case you missed the news, back in August, Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favor of the US Department of Justice in its case against Alphabet's Google and concluded that the company is a monopolist and acted as such to maintain its monopoly, effectively paving the way for the government to introduce a range of penalties aimed at curbing Google's dominance in the global market.
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As many have predicted, the penalties were not long in coming, with the DOJ now requesting Judge Mehta to force Google to sell its widely used Google Chrome browser and implement measures related to the company's AI initiatives, Bloomberg reports.
According to anonymous sources, antitrust enforcers want the judge to order the demerger because Chrome represents a key access point through which many people use Google's search engine. The report states that the government could decide on the measures necessary to create a more competitive web browser market not dominated by Chrome, which currently controls about 61% of the US market. The final ruling is set to be issued in August 2025.
"[The Justice Department] continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case," commented Google's VP of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland. "The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers, and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed."
As for the other penalties, the DOJ also recommends that Google be required to license its search engine results and data while providing websites with more options to restrict their content from being used in Google's AI products, the report claims. They are also expected to propose separating the Android smartphone operating system from Google's other products, such as its search engine and Google Play app store. Additionally, the DOJ is prepared to seek a requirement that Google share more information with advertisers and give them greater control over where their ads appear.
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