Internet US government could call for Google to be broken up
The US government is considering demanding the break-up of Google in court. In an interim report on its deliberations, the US Department of Justice mentioned possible "structural measures" - i.e. a forced separation of parts of the company.
09.10.2024, 06:25
09.10.2024, 06:28
SDA
Google suffered a heavy defeat against the US competition authorities in the trial at the beginning of August. A judge in Washington ruled that the company had a monopoly in Internet search - and was defending it against competition by unfair means. Google intends to appeal against the ruling.
Focus on payments in the billions
At the center of the proceedings were the billion-dollar deals with which Google secured its place as the default search engine for years, for example in the Safari web browser on Apple's iPhones or in Firefox.
In his analysis of the case, the judge Amit Mehta initially came to the conclusion that Google had a monopoly in the search engine market. This was supported by the fact that the company could raise prices for advertising customers without fear of negative consequences.
The deals with which Google became the default search engine on iPhones and in other browsers had cemented this market position - and this was prohibited action for a monopolist, Mehta ruled. At the same time, he emphasized several times in his 280-page ruling that Google was superior to other search engines.
US government also sees problem with artificial intelligence
Possible consequences of the ruling are currently being discussed in the proceedings. The Department of Justice mainly provided general information on its deliberations. However, it wrote that it wanted to use rules of conduct and structural measures to prevent the internet company from using its Chrome web browser, the app platform and the Android smartphone system to the advantage of its search engine business.
The US government could also suggest that Google should share more information about its search engine with competitors. It is also considering how the position of websites could be strengthened vis-à-vis Google when it comes to using their data to train software with artificial intelligence.
Google warns of negative consequences
Google criticized that the government seems to be considering far-reaching measures, while the case is about distribution deals. This could have unplanned consequences for consumers, companies and the competitiveness of the USA, the company warned in a blog post.
