The U.S. government has urged a judge to order the dismantling of Google, including the sale of its widely used Chrome browser, as part of a major antitrust action against the tech giant.
In a court filing, the U.S. Department of Justice called for significant changes to Google’s business operations, including banning its deals to be the default search engine on smartphones and restricting its use of the Android mobile operating system. Antitrust officials also suggested that Google should be forced to sell Android if the proposed measures do not prevent the company from leveraging its dominance in the mobile market.
In response, Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, criticized the filing, claiming that the Justice Department was pushing for a “radical interventionist agenda.” This call for the breakup of Google marks a significant shift in U.S. regulatory policy, which has largely avoided taking aggressive action against major tech companies since its failure to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google is expected to submit its counterarguments in a filing next month, with both sides set to present their cases at a hearing in April before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta. Regardless of the outcome, Google is likely to appeal the decision, which could prolong the legal battle for years and potentially result in a final ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case could also be influenced by the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump in January, as his administration is expected to replace the current leadership of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division.
Trump’s stance on Google and big tech has been inconsistent—while he has accused Google of bias against conservative viewpoints, he has also suggested that forcing the company to break up may be too extreme a measure for the U.S. government to pursue.
