On Thursday, shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, dropped 4% after the Department of Justice suggested the search engine company divest its Chrome browser to remedy its antitrust violation.
According to the DOJ filing on the night of Wednesday, the proposed divestment would break Google’s monopoly over the crucial search access point and allow rival search engine access to what many internet users use as a gateway to the World Wide Web.
After a yearlong antitrust battle against Google’s monopoly for internet browsers. In August, a federal judge ruled that the company has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, by holding an illegal monopoly over search engine and text advertising.
The DOJ’s attempt to break up Google is the biggest antitrust case against a tech company since the case against Microsoft was settled in 2001.
Google launched Chrome in 2008. Since then, the company has used Chrome as a channel to gather data for targeted ads. Losing Google’s control over the browser would level the playing field for its competitors.
The DOJ also added that Google should not be allowed to strike an exclusionary deal with third parties like Apple and Samsung, and should also be restricted from making its search engine a default option in other products.
The remedies should prevent Google from stamping out competition through acquisitions, minority investments, or partnerships, and should be in effect for 10 years, the DOJ remarked.
The DOJ filing also noted that the proposed remedies aim to end Google’s illegal practices and allow its rival and newcomer to compete in a fairer market.
Google’s search engine accounted for $49.4 billion in revenue in Alphabeth’s 3Q, representing a third of total ad sales in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the DOJ is also forcing Google to sell its Android mobile operating system (OS), but the Plaintiffs recognize that such action would draw objections from Google or other market participants.
The DOJ suggests that other methods should be enough to undermine the company’s leverage in the OS ecosystem to gain favor for its search services, but if the scheme fails, Android divestiture could come back on the table.
Kent Walker, Google’s legal chief, wrote in a blog post on Thursday that the DOJ proposal would impact privacy and the company’s investment in artificial intelligence. Walker also added that the Court’s decision would break a wide range of Google products outside of Search.
Google is planning to appeal the DOJ ruling, which would protract any final remedy decision.
