The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit seeking to break up Alphabet’s Google search business on the grounds that other consumer companies give it an unfair advantage.
In a 32-page filing in the US District Court in Washington DC (via Bloomberg), the government agency said, “is considering behavioral and structural solutions that would prevent Google from using products like Chrome, Play and Android to favor Google Search and Google Search-related products and features – including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence – over rivals or newcomers.”
It’s still unclear whether the DOJ will be successful after failing to break up Microsoft in 2001 over similar allegations of a Web browser monopoly. In August 2024, the agency did as well Apple sued for creating a monopoly by suppressing third-party services, apps and wallets.
US v Google
The DoJ accuses Google of making its search engine the default on smartphones and some web browsers because of illegal distribution deals with their operators. Since Android is a popular operating system from Google, it is easy to see how a conflict of interest could have developed.
Google has described the filing as “radical,” though I’d even expand it to “tubular,” based on how the DoJ also has a dim view of Google using its search engine to publicize Gemini, the name for its AI -tool. It wants assurances that websites will have more control over the ability to opt out of integrating their AI products, and over where their ads appear on Google-owned services.
Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, Anne Mulholland, wrote in a blog post that “(Google believes) today’s blueprint goes well beyond the legal scope of the Court’s decision on search distribution contracts,” and that the “sweeping agenda” will create “significant unintended consequences, businesses, and American competitiveness.”
Yes, yes, God bless the US search engine industry, but it’s worth noting that the European Union has been chasing the breakup of Google since 2023, in a case that follows a veritable series of fines for data privacy breaches . And if Breaking up Google’s search function exceeds even the power of a bloc of states, the US government may have no hope.