US regulators discuss breakup of Google as possible remedy to its dominance

After Google was found to have violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a web search monopoly, federal officials have started working on an action plan against the tech giant. According to The New York Times, a breakup of the company is on the cards.

Google is currently very busy on the innovations front. In short order, it has announced updated and AI-powered smartphones, earbuds, and smartwatches, while its robot also beat humans at table tennis.

But a storm is brewing on the sidelines. Last week, a US Federal District judge dealt a blow to Google, finding the tech behemoth guilty of violating US antitrust laws to become the world’s default search engine.

Sure, most of the talk around how Google might be punished has tended to end in the sad conclusion that the tech giant is too rich and influential to be hit with real consequences.

But now, The New York Times reports that Justice Department officials are intensely discussing remedies to ask a federal judge to order against Google. It hints at the possibility of breaking off parts of the company, such as its Chrome browser or Android OS.

According to the NYT, Google could also be forced to make its data available to rivals or abandon deals that made its search engine the default option on devices such as the iPhone.

The government is meeting with other companies and experts to discuss their proposals for limiting Google’s power, sources told the daily.

Judge Amit Mehta has asked the Justice Department and Google to develop a process for determining a possible fix by September 4th. Two days later, the next steps will be discussed in a hearing.

In his landmark ruling, Mehta said that Google spent billions of dollars over the years to maintain its illegal stronghold over the search market, stifling competition by creating an atmosphere where rivals stopped even trying to compete with the tech giant.

The “United States v. Google” lawsuit was originally filed by the Donald Trump administration back in 2020. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has already said it would appeal Mehta’s decision, guaranteeing the case will drag on through 2025, if not longer.

The ruling still raises serious questions about big tech's power. Apple, Amazon, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are also facing antitrust cases.

Google generated $175 billion in revenue from its search engine and related businesses last year. It’s now a $2 trillion internet juggernaut.