US govt calls for breakup of Google and Chrome

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.

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© Agence France-Presse