The US antitrust ax on Google, a split not ruled out

Google must change its model and open its search engine to competition, the US government recommended on Tuesday before warning the group convicted in early August of monopoly. In the 30-page document sent to federal judge Amit Mehta in Washington, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refers to possible “structural” changes, a term that many observers translate as a split. The same magistrate had found Google guilty of anti-competitive practices in the management and promotion of its famous search engine.

The lawsuit had highlighted the staggering sums paid by the Alphabet subsidiary to secure Google Search exclusivity with smartphone and internet browser makers. According to the website StatCounter, Google accounted for 90% of the global online search market in September and as much as 94% for smartphones. The document released Tuesday is just a draft of the recommendations the Justice Department will make to Judge Mehta in November.

Possible “structural” changes

This first version outlines a number of avenues for reform, including requiring Google to make accessible the data and programming models used to generate results through its search engine. The Justice Department is also considering asking a judge to bar Google from using or storing data that it refuses to share with third-party companies.

The US government is also hinting at the possibility of blocking the tech giant from using its Chrome browser, Google Play Store and Android mobile operating system to give its search engine an advantage. This limitation of the interconnections between the various products of the Mountain View (California) group could lead to “structural” changes, with the DOJ thus pointing in the direction of a break.

The company’s response

“Splitting Chrome and Android would destroy them and many other things,” Google said in a statement posted on its website. A forced separation “would change their business model, increase the cost of devices, and undermine Android and Google Play in their competition with the iPhone and the App Store,” Google said. As for any sharing of search data and results with other Internet players, “it would represent a risk to data protection and security”, claims the Californian company. For Google, the US government’s recommendations “go far beyond the legal issues addressed in this case.”