DOJ indicates it’s considering Google breakup following monopoly ruling

The Department of Justice late Tuesday made recommendations for Google's search engine business practices, indicating that it was considering a possible breakup of the tech giant as an antitrust remedy.

The remedies necessary to "prevent and restrain monopoly maintenance could include contract requirements and prohibitions; non-discrimination product requirements; data and interoperability requirements; and structural requirements," the department said in a filing.

The DOJ also said it was "considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features — including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants."

Additionally, the DOJ suggested limiting or prohibiting default agreements and "other revenue-sharing arrangements related to search and search-related products." That would include Google's search position agreements with Apple's iPhone and Samsung devices — deals that cost the company billions of dollars a year in payouts. The agency suggested one way to do this is requiring a "choice screen," which could allow users to pick from other search engines.

Such remedies would end "Google's control of distribution today" and ensure "Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow."

The recommendations come after a U.S. judge in August ruled that Google holds a monopoly in the search market. That ruling came after the government in 2020 filed the landmark case, alleging that Google has kept its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance. The court