The US government asked a judge on Wednesday night to order the dismantling of Google by selling your browser Chromewidely used, in a major antitrust offensive against the Internet giant.
In a court filing, the US Justice Department urged a reorganization of Google’s business that includes banning deals to make Google the default search engine on smartphones and preventing it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.
Antitrust authorities said in the document that Google may also have to sell Android if the proposed solutions do not prevent the company from using its control of that mobile operating system to its advantage.
The prospect of requiring Google to be spun off marks a profound shift by US competition authorities, who have largely left the tech giants alone since their failure to dismantle Microsoft 20 years ago.
Google is expected to make its recommendations in December in a document, and the two sides will present their arguments to Washington federal judge Amit Mehta.
Regardless of what the judge decides, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, which would extend the process for several years and leave the final decision to the Supreme Court.
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Trump’s arrival
The case could also be affected by the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump to power in January. His administration could change the team currently in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
Trump has expressed conflicting opinions about Google and the hegemony of big technology companies.
On the one hand, he accused the search engine of having a bias against conservative content, but at the same time he has said that forcing the company to split up could be a too big demand for the government.
Last August, Judge Mehta found Google guilty of illegal practices to establish and maintain its monopoly on online searches.
The next step in this historic trial is to determine how to address those Google practices.
The judge could hand down a ruling in August 2025, after hearing both sides at a special hearing in April.
The Department of Justice wants Google to get rid of Chrome, the most used web browser in the world, because it is one of the main access points to the search engine, which reduces the possibilities of other competitors.
According to the StatCounter website, Google captured 90% of the global online search market in September and 94% on smartphones.