The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a sweeping set of proposals to address Google’s dominance in the online search market, following a court ruling that deemed the company an illegal monopoly. “As part of its lawsuit over how we distribute Search, the US DOJ filed a staggering proposal that seeks dramatic changes to Google services,” said Kent Walker, Chief Legal Officer of Google and Alphabet, in a blog post on Thursday.
Alphabet’s Google should take steps to end its monopoly on online search, prosecutors argued on Wednesday, suggesting measures such as selling its Chrome browser, sharing search data with rivals, and potentially divesting Android, according to a Reuters report.
“Google’s unlawful behaviour has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways,” the DOJ and state antitrust enforcers said in a court filing on Wednesday, the report said.
The measures presented by the Department of Justice reportedly include:
Divesting Chrome: Forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser to curb its control over search access. Android Restrictions: Preventing the operating system from favouring Google’s search engine. Data Sharing: Requiring Google to share search data with competitors. AI Training Opt-Out: Allowing publishers and websites to bar their content from being used in Google’s AI training. Ending Exclusive Deals: Banning agreements that make Google Search the default on devices like the iPhone.
“DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most,” said Alphabet Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker.
“DOJ had a chance to propose remedies related to the issue in this case: search distribution agreements with Apple, Mozilla, smartphone OEMs, and wireless carriers,” Walker said.
“Instead, DOJ chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership. DOJ’s wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s decision. It would break a range of Google products — even beyond Search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives,” he added.
Google, in a statement on Thursday, said this extreme proposal would lead to the following:
Endanger the security and privacy of millions of Americans, and undermine the quality of products people love, by forcing the sale of Chrome and potentially Android.
Require disclosure to unknown foreign and domestic companies of not just Google’s innovations and results, but even more troublingly, Americans’ personal search queries.
Chill our investment in artificial intelligence, perhaps the most important innovation of our time, where Google plays a leading role.
Hurt innovative services, like Mozilla’s Firefox, whose businesses depend on charging Google for Search placement.
Deliberately hobble people’s ability to access Google Search.
Mandate government micromanagement of Google Search and other technologies by appointing a “Technical Committee” with enormous power over your online experience.
“As just one example, DOJ’s proposal would literally require us to install not one but two separate choice screens before you could access Google Search on a Pixel phone you bought. And the design of those choice screens would have to be approved by the Technical Committee. And that’s just a small part of it,” Google’s Legal Officer highlighted.
Looking Ahead
“As the Court said, Google offers “the industry’s highest quality search engine, which has earned Google the trust of hundreds of millions of daily users.” We’re still at the early stages of a long process and many of these demands are clearly far afield from what even the Court’s order contemplated. We’ll file our own proposals next month, and will make our broader case next year,” Kent Walker concluded.
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