The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering recommending a breakup of Google as a potential remedy following a significant ruling that the tech giant abused its dominance in online search. This development comes after a decade-long investigation into Google's business practices, which the DOJ claims unfairly reinforced the company's control over the search market.
The DOJ’s proposal follows Judge Amit Mehta's ruling in August, which found that Google’s contracts with Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers, among others, helped it maintain its monopoly. In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the DOJ emphasized that unwinding Google’s monopolistic behavior would take time. Structural remedies might be necessary to ensure the company cannot repeat its practices in the future.
If approved, a breakup would mark one of the most dramatic antitrust actions in the U.S. in decades. Prosecutors are also considering behavioral changes to prevent Google from using its other products, such as Chrome and Android, to reinforce its search dominance—especially as artificial intelligence becomes a growing part of the tech landscape.
However, Google has vowed to appeal the ruling and argued that such drastic measures would harm consumers and businesses. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of global affairs, expressed concern that the DOJ's approach could have unintended consequences, such as increasing device costs and undermining competition between Android and Apple's iPhone ecosystem.
The case is part of a broader government push to rein in Big Tech's market power, as regulators look for ways to limit the influence of dominant companies on innovation and competition.