Google pushes back against plans from President Trump's admin to break up its search monopoly.
The tech giant warned that the Department of Justice (DOJ)'s efforts to break up its monopoly over online search would pose a threat to national security.
When it was under former President Joe Biden's administration, the DOJ was pursuing an antitrust case against Google for controlling around 90% of general search services and advertising.
Back in November, government lawyers argued that Google should be forced to sell off its Chrome web browser, limit AI investments, and end exclusive deals with companies like Apple that have Google Search set as the default option on smartphones.
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Understandably, Google isn't happy about it.
According to Bloomberg, executive officials from Alphabet (Google’s parent company) met with DOJ officials last week to convince them to back off.
“We routinely meet with regulators, including with the DOJ to discuss this case,” a Google spokesperson said. “As we’ve publicly said, we’re concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security.”
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US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last August that Google is in fact a 'monopolist'. Mehta will reportedly hold hearings on possible remedies next month and is expected to announce a final decision later this summer.
Meanwhile, Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker previously argued that forcing it to sell off Chrome or the company’s operating system Android would 'endanger the security and privacy of millions of Americans.'
Walker said: “DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses - and jeopardise America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most."
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Antitrust expert Gail Slater is expected to become the DOJ’s antitrust chief once her confirmation process is finalised. While the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination last week, the full Senate is yet to schedule a vote.
In the meantime, Omeed Assefi is handling the role on an interim basis and is expected to announce the DOJ’s final recommendations later this week. It's not hard to see that breaking up a company that owns a large share of search traffic and browser usage could lead to pretty drastic consequences for the internet.
This isn’t the only legal battle Google is dealing with, though. The DOJ is also investigating Google’s dominance in digital advertising, accusing it of controlling both the buying and selling sides of the ad market.
Google’s stance is unlikely to change regardless of the decision, but for the government, the outcome remains uncertain.