The US government is considering breaking up Google to end its monopoly in search. This move follows a landmark case in August, where a judge ruled Google violated US antitrust law.
In a 32-page filing, the Department of Justice is proposing remedies to prevent Google from using its products to maintain an advantage over its competitors. These remedies could include sharing users' search data with rivals and restricting the use of search results for training artificial intelligence (AI) models. The filing outlines its initial proposal ahead of the second stage of the trial where sanctions will be determined.
The DoJ and Google are expected to file their proposed final judgments and witness lists in November and December. Hearings for the remedy requests are set for April, with a decision expected by August 2025. Google has stated it will appeal the decision.
The DoJ's remedies framework for Google addresses search distribution, revenue sharing, search results generation, advertising scale, and data gathering and use. Such measures could involve banning exclusive contracts, imposing non-discrimination measures, and requiring Google to share its data gathered for search improvement. To allay privacy concerns, Google could be prohibited from "using or retaining data that cannot be effectively shared with others".
Google is unlikely to give up its search business without a fight. In a related article in the Financial Times (£), the tactics Google could employ include claims that forcing it to share commercially sensitive information about its search engine, such as data and algorithms, could put sensitive consumer information in the hands of China's Baidu or Russia's Yandex who they claim may not adhere to as high privacy or security standards.
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