The DOJ suggests possible ways to combat Google's monopoly on Internet search

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday it may ask Alphabet's Google to divest parts of its business that were allegedly used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search.

A federal judge ruled in August that Google had created an illegal monopoly Internet researchmore than 90% of these are processed via Google. The DOJ's proposed remedies could have a significant impact on how Americans find information online, while shrinking Google's revenue and creating growth opportunities for its competitors.

“To fully repair these harms, we must not only end Google’s control over distribution today, but also ensure that Google cannot control distribution tomorrow,” the DOJ said.

The Justice Department said that to combat the monopoly, it may ask the court to require Google to divest its Chrome browser and Android operating system. It may also require the court to stop paying Google for pre-installing or setting the search engine as the default on new devices, or require Google to share search data with other competing providers.

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A federal judge ruled this summer that Google maintains an illegal monopoly on Internet search. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Prosecutors have also signaled they want to stop Google from dominating the growing field Artificial Intelligence (AI)potentially preventing Google from entering into agreements that restrict its AI competitors' access to content and allowing websites to opt out of allowing Google to use their content to train AI models.

Google has made annual payments to Apple and others Device manufacturer to ensure its search engine is the default search engine on smartphones and web browsers to maintain its market share. In 2021, Google made $26.3 billion in such payments.

The company criticized the DOJ's proposal in a blog post on its website, arguing that “the administration appears to be pursuing a far-reaching agenda that will impact numerous industries and products and will have significant unintended consequences for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness.” “

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The Justice Department outlined possible ways to curb Google's monopoly on Internet search. (Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Google said there is a requirement Share data It said its competitors' handling of searches, clicks and results could “introduce significant privacy and security risks” as these are currently protected by its “strict security standards.” It added that this could lead to the creation of copycats and discourage other companies from innovating in search.

It warned that splitting Chrome and Android from Google would “break them,” as Google currently offers them and their code for free on an open source basis.

“Few companies would have the ability or incentive to keep them open source or invest in them to the same extent that we do,” Google said, adding that the change would have knock-on effects across a wide range of apps and devices systems that use these systems by making it more difficult to fix security vulnerabilities.

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Google rejected the DOJ's proposed monopoly remedies and will have an opportunity to propose its own solutions later this year. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Google also defended its distribution deals to promote Google Search, arguing that “unreasonable restrictions” would create friction for consumers and “reduce the revenue of companies like Mozilla (which reduces their ability to invest in their own browser).” and Android smartphone manufacturer (possibly rising phone prices).”

The tech giant also raised concerns about possible limitations on its AI development, arguing they would hamper competition in a technology that is “important to America's technological and economic leadership.”

“Business models in AI, let alone winners and losers, have yet to be identified, and competition worldwide is fierce,” Google wrote. “There are enormous risks for the government if it ignores the scale of this vital industry – distorting investment, distorting incentives, stymieing emerging business models – all at the very moment we need to promote investment, new business models and American technology leadership. “.”

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The DOJ is expected to submit a more detailed proposal to the court by November 20. After that, Google will have the opportunity to propose its own remedies until December 20th.

Reuters contributed to this report.