US may be planning to ‘break-up’ Google, company to be forced to sell these businesses

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is contemplating a rare antitrust action: breaking up tech giant Google. This consideration comes in the wake of a landmark court ruling that found the company had monopolized the online search market, according to sources familiar with the matter as reported by Bloomberg.
DOJ officials have intensified discussions about potential remedies following Judge Amit Mehta‘s August 5 decision, which ruled that Google illegally monopolized the markets of online search and search text ads.The ruling, delivered in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, marks a significant victory for the government in its efforts to curb the power of big tech companies.

Google could be forced to sell its Android and Chrome businesses

Among the options being considered, the most drastic would involve forcing Google to divest key parts of its business. Bloomberg’s sources indicate that the Android operating system and the Chrome web browser are the most likely candidates for divestment. These two products are central to Google’s dominance in the tech ecosystem, with Android powering approximately 2.5 billion devices worldwide.

Ads business also under radar

Officials are also exploring the possibility of requiring Google to sell off AdWords, the platform used for selling text advertising. AdWords, which was rebranded as Google Ads in 2018, is a crucial revenue source for the company, generating about two-thirds of Google’s total revenue – amounting to more than $100 billion in 2020, according to testimony from last year’s trial.

Or Google could be mandated to share more data with competitors

Less severe options under consideration, as reported by Bloomberg, include mandates that Google share more data with competitors. This could potentially involve Google to make some of its data available to rival search engines like Microsoft’s Bing or DuckDuckGo, similar to requirements recently imposed by Europe’s digital gatekeeper rules.
The DOJ is also likely to seek a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were central to its case against Google. These contracts, which involve billions of dollars in payments to companies like Apple and Samsung, ensure Google’s search engine is the default on various devices and web browsers. According to Bloomberg, Google paid as much as $26 billion to companies for such arrangements, with $20 billion of that going to Apple Inc.
Another area of ​​concern for the DOJ, as reported by Bloomberg, is Google’s potential advantage in developing artificial intelligence technology due to its search dominance. As part of a potential remedy, the government might seek to prevent Google from forcing websites to allow their content to be used for some of Google’s AI products in order to appear in search results.
If the DOJ pursues a breakup, it would mark the most significant antitrust action against a US company since the dismantling of AT&T in the 1980s. The move would need to be approved by Judge Mehta, who would then direct Google to comply.
Bloomberg reports that DOJ attorneys have been consulting with companies affected by Google’s practices to gather input on potential remedies.
Google, for its part, has announced its intention to appeal Judge Mehta’s ruling. The company maintains that its success is due to providing a superior product that users choose for its quality. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, stated that the decision “recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.”