The improper monopolistic behavior of search engines has led the U.S. Department of Justice to contemplate forcing Google to split its business operations
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The U.S. Department of Justice is considering recommending that a federal judge compel Google to divest and sell parts of its business to alleviate the monopolistic impact of this tech giant in the online search market. It has been 40 years since the DOJ last forced a company to break up, and implementing this would mark a historic antitrust case.
In documents submitted to the court on the 8th, the DOJ also suggested that Judge Amit Mehta could require Alphabet's subsidiary to open access to the foundational data used for building search results and artificial intelligence (AI) products.
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Earlier this summer, Judge Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust laws in the online search and search advertising markets and plans to hold a hearing on proposed remedies in the spring of 2025, with a decision expected in August.
Google has stated its intention to appeal the ruling, but must wait until the judge solidifies the remedies first.
According to the DOJ's document from the 8th, “consideration is being given to both behavioral and structural remedies to prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, the app store, and Android to gain an unfair advantage in search and related products and functionalities, including AI, over competitors or new entrants.
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