Photo: Pixabay.
Following an antitrust ruling in August that Google violated antitrust laws as it built its Internet search empire, the United State’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed a series of measure that will restructure Google and change its business practices, that boils down into a forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser.
In August, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said:
This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people. No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.
The proposals that the DOJ filed with a Washington federal court include the sale of the Chrome browser, a five-year ban from entering the browser market, stopping payments to third-parties to exclude rival browsers, and to divest itself of Android “if Google chooses to retain ownership but persists in exploiting its control to the detriment of competition”.
Reports have the same judge that presided over the initial Google ruling considering judgement again. Judge Amit Mehta has set a hearing date for April next year where he will hear from both sides.
One of the reasons for the DOJ’s filings has been around the area of advertising and the lack of options for online advertisers.
The DOJ filing says that, “Through its unlawful behaviour, Google has accumulated a staggering amount of data over many years, at the expense of its rivals,” and that competition must be restored to a search market.
It added:
Google’s unlawful maintenance of its search text advertising monopoly has undermined advertisers’ choice of search providers, as well as rivals’ ability to monetize search advertising, and has enabled “Google to profitably charge supracompetitive prices for search text advertisements” while “degrad[ing] the quality of its text advertisements” and the related services and reporting.
Google has said it will appeal the monopoly ruling.
One key factor that could affect the ruling will be the incoming Trump administration. As president, Trump can direct the DoJ’s handling of the case with vice-president-elect, JD Vance, already saying that Google was “way too big, way too powerful”.
Source: The Guardian, Department of Justice
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