The US Department of Justice has officially proposed to the court to force Google to sell Chrome browser and has not given up on splitting the Android system.
On November 20th local time, the US Department of Justice officially submitted a document to the federal court, recommending that Judge Amit P. Mehta, who previously ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, take measures to require Google to sell its Chrome browser and not re-enter the browser market for five years.
In this 23 page document entitled "Executive summary of the final judgment proposed by the plaintiff", the Ministry of Justice put forward specific suggestions for remedial measures in the case: "In order to remedy the harm caused, (the preliminary final judgment is proposed) asked Google to strip Chrome, permanently terminate Google's control over this key search portal, and allow competitors' search engines to access it. This browser is a must for many users to access the Internet."
In addition, the Ministry of Justice stated that Google should be prohibited from signing exclusive agreements with third parties such as Apple and Samsung, and from prioritizing the promotion of its search service in other products under its umbrella. Google pays billions of dollars annually to companies such as Apple and Samsung to become the default search engine for smartphones and web browsers.
The Department of Justice also proposed that remedial measures should prevent Google from "eliminating emerging competitive threats through acquisitions, minority investments, or partnerships," prohibit Google from "owning or acquiring any shares of search competitors, potential market entrants, and artificial intelligence products related to search or search advertising," and immediately divest any such shares it owns.
The Department of Justice stated that the proposed remedial measures will last for 10 years and suggested that the court require Google to submit a monthly report to a technical committee detailing any changes to its search engine text advertising bidding mechanism: "The proposed remedial measures aim to end Google's illegal behavior and open up the market for competitors and new entrants
Previously, it was reported that in addition to Chrome, the Department of Justice is also considering proposing to split Google's Android operating system. In the submitted documents, the Department of Justice stated that while forcing Google to divest its Android operating system would help restore competition, "the plaintiffs recognize that such divestment may provoke strong opposition from Google or other market participants.
However, the Ministry of Justice has not completely abandoned the idea of splitting Google's Android operating system. The Department of Justice suggests that the court's remedies should "weaken Google's ability to use its control over the Android system to favor its general search service," and if these measures "ultimately fail to meet the high standards of meaningful relief in these key markets, the court may request reconsideration of the proposal to divest the Android system.
In response, Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of Google and Alphabet, published an article on Google's official blog, stating that the Justice Department's proposal is "shocking" and "will lead to unprecedented government overreach.
Walker wrote: "The Ministry of Justice had the opportunity to propose remedial measures related to the issue of this case: signed search distribution agreements with Apple, Mozilla, the Firefox developer, the smartphone original equipment manufacturer and wireless operators. On the contrary, the Ministry of Justice chose to pursue a radical agenda of intervention, which would damage the United States and its global technology leadership. The proposal of the Ministry of Justice is too broad, far beyond the court's decision."
This is the toughest attempt by the US Department of Justice to split a technology company since reaching a settlement with Microsoft in an antitrust case in 2001. Chrome browser is very important for Google's core advertising business. According to the Q3 2024 financial report of Google's parent company Alphabet as of September 30, the revenue of search advertising business during the reporting period was $49.4 billion, accounting for three-quarters of the total advertising sales in that quarter.
This antitrust lawsuit began in 2020, jointly sued by the US Department of Justice and 52 state and jurisdictional attorneys general against Google. On August 5th local time, Judge Meta, who is responsible for this case, announced the verdict, finding that Google's search business violated US antitrust laws.
Judge Meta stated that he will strive to make a ruling on the remedial measures in this case before August 2025. Google has announced that it will appeal the case once remedial measures are determined. In October of this year, the Ministry of Justice stated in a document submitted to the court that "structural requirements" had been taken into consideration as a remedial measure.
In previous analysis, some legal experts believe that the most likely outcome of this case is for the court to require Google to cancel certain exclusive agreements, such as the agreement with Apple. Experts say that although a split is unlikely to happen in the end, the court may require Google to make it easier for users to access other search engines.