US Govt Calls for Breakup of Google and Chrome

FILE - The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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US Govt Calls for Breakup of Google and Chrome

FILE - The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
In a court filing, the US Department of Justice urged a shake-up of Google's business that includes banning deals for Google to be the default search engine on smartphones and preventing it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system, reported AFP.
Antitrust officials said in the filing that Google should also be made to sell Android if proposed remedies don't prevent the tech company from using its control of the mobile operating system to its advantage.
Calling for the breakup of Google marks a profound change by the US government's regulators, which have largely left tech giants alone since failing to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google is expected to make its recommendations in a filing next month and both sides will make their case at a hearing in April before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta.
Regardless of Judge Mehta's eventual decision, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, prolonging the process for years and potentially leaving the final say to the US Supreme Court.
The case could also be upended by the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in January.
His administration will likely replace the current team in charge of the DOJ's antitrust division.
The newcomers could choose to carry on with the case, ask for a settlement with Google, or abandon the case altogether.
Trump has blown hot and cold in how to handle Google and the dominance of big tech companies.
He has accused the search engine of bias against conservative content, but has also signaled that a forced break up of the company would be too large a demand by the US government.
- Too extreme? -
Determining how to address Google's wrongs is the next stage of the landmark antitrust trial that saw the company in August ruled a monopoly by Judge Mehta.
Google has dismissed the idea of a breakup as "radical."
Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress, said the government's demands were "fantastical" and defied legal standards, instead calling for narrowly tailored remedies.
The trial, which concluded last year, scrutinized Google's confidential agreements with smartphone manufacturers, including Apple.
These deals involve substantial payments to secure Google's search engine as the default option on browsers, iPhones and other devices.
The judge determined that this arrangement provided Google with unparalleled access to user data, enabling it to develop its search engine into a globally dominant platform.
From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
According to the judgment, Google controlled 90 percent of the US online search market in 2020, with an even higher share, 95 percent, on mobile devices.
The US government currently has five cases pending against big tech over antitrust concerns after the Biden administration adopted a tough stance on reining in the dominance of the companies.
If carried through by the Trump administration, the cases against Amazon, Meta, and Apple, as well as two against Google, could take years to litigate.



Perplexity AI Offers Google $34.5 Bn for Chrome Browser 

A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. (Reuters)
A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. (Reuters)
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Perplexity AI Offers Google $34.5 Bn for Chrome Browser 

A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. (Reuters)
A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. (Reuters)

Perplexity AI offered Google on Tuesday $34.5 billion for its popular Chrome web browser, which the internet giant could potentially be forced to sell as part of antitrust proceedings.

The whopping sum proposed in a letter of intent by Perplexity is nearly double the value of the startup, which was reportedly $18 billion in a recent funding round.

"This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection," Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

Google is awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta's ruling on what "remedies" to impose, following a landmark decision last year that said the tech titan maintained an illegal monopoly in online search.

US government attorneys have called for Google to divest itself of the Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the go-to window into the internet.

Google has urged Mehta to reject the divestment, and his decision is expected by the end of the month.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Perplexity's offer vastly undervalues Chrome and "should not be taken seriously," Baird Equity Research analysts said in a note to investors.

Given that Perplexity already has a browser that competes with Chrome, the San Francisco-based startup could be trying to spark others to bid or "influence the pending decision" in the antitrust case, Baird analysts theorized.

"Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share," Baird analysts told investors.

Google contends that the United States has gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending a spinoff of Chrome, and holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system.

"Forcing the sale of Chrome or banning default agreements wouldn't foster competition," said Cato Institute senior fellow in technology policy Jennifer Huddleston.

"It would hobble innovation, hurt smaller players, and leave users with worse products."

Google attorney John Schmidtlein noted in court that more than 80 percent of Chrome users are outside the United States, meaning divestiture would have global ramifications.

"Any divested Chrome would be a shadow of the current Chrome," he contended.

"And once we are in that world, I don't see how you can say anybody is better off."

The potential of Chrome being weakened or spun off comes as rivals such as Microsoft, ChatGPT and Perplexity put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work fetching information from the internet in response to user queries.

Google is among the tech companies investing heavily to be a leader in AI, and is weaving the technology into search and other online offerings.