DOJ pushes for Google to break off Chrome browser after antitrust case

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DOJ pushes for

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to break off Chrome browser after antitrust case

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter speaks about the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment during a press conference as Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco look on during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Ken Cedeno | Reuters

The Department of Justice is calling for

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to divest its Chrome browser, following a ruling in August that the company holds a monopoly in the search market.

Chrome, which

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launched in 2008, provides the search giant with data it then uses for targeting ads. The DOJ said

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on Wednesday that forcing the company to get rid of Chrome would create a more equal playing field for search competitors.

“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires

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to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop

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’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” the 23-page filing reads.

Additionally, the DOJ said that

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be prevented from entering into exclusionary agreements with third parties like Apple and Samsung. The DOJ also said that

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be prohibited from giving its search service preference within its other products.

The DOJ also said that remedies should prevent

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from eliminating “emerging competitive threats through acquisitions, ********* investments, or partnerships.” The DOJ said that the “proposed remedies run for a ******* of 10 years.” The filing also says the search company should be required to provide a technical committee with a monthly report outlining any changes to its search text ads auction.

“The proposed remedies are designed to end

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’s unlawful practices and open up the market for rivals and new entrants to emerge,” the filing reads.

Search advertising accounted for $49.4 billion in revenue in parent company Alphabet’s third quarter, representing three-quarters of total ad sales in the *******.

The DOJ’s request represents the agency’s most aggressive attempt to break up a tech company since its antitrust case against

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, which reached a settlement in 2001.

In addition to its call for

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to divest Chrome, the DOJ said forcing the search company to divest its Android mobile operating system would also aid in restoring competition, “but Plaintiffs recognize that such divestiture may draw significant objections from

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or other market participants.”

Instead, the DOJ suggested that the other remedies should be enough to “blunt

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’s ability to use its control of the Android ecosystem to favor its general search services,” and if they “ultimately fail to achieve the high standards for meaningful relief in these critical markets, the Court could require return to” the Android divestiture suggestion.

In August, a federal judge ruled that 

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holds a monopoly in the search market. The ruling came after the government in 2020 filed its landmark case, alleging that

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controlled the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance. The court found that

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violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which outlaws monopolies.

Last month, the DOJ indicated it was considering a breakup of

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businesses, including potentially breaking up its Chrome, Play or Android divisions. 

Additionally, the DOJ suggested limiting or prohibiting default agreements and “other revenue-sharing arrangements related to search and search-related products.” That would include

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’s search arrangements with Apple on the iPhone and Samsung on its mobiles devices, deals that cost the company billions of dollars a year in payouts.

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has said it will appeal the monopoly ruling, which would draw out any final remedy decisions.

However, the most likely outcome, according to some legal experts, is that the court will ask

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to do away with certain exclusive agreements, like its deal with Apple. While a breakup is an unlikely outcome, the experts said, the court may ask

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to make it easier for users to access other search engines.

WATCH: What DOJ’s focus on

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means for the tech company

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#DOJ #pushes #

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#break #Chrome #browser #antitrust #case

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