The Department of Justice is reaffirming its demands for action to break up Google's search monopoly, calling for the sale of Chrome and potentially Android as well.
In a court filing published on March 7, the DOJ doubled down on its assertion that Google's dominance in search is the result of monopolistic practices that have been leveraged to support other services, such as Chrome and Android, in a way that makes fair competition nearly impossible.
The Revised Proposed Final Judgement (RPFJ) lays out the stakes, stating, "The American people’s reliance on Google’s search engine is well-known. Less understood, however, is how Google—through its unlawful and unchecked, monopolistic conduct over the past decade—secured the American people’s reliance. Google’s anticompetitive conduct has denied users of a basic American value—the ability to choose in the marketplace."
The remedy for this, according to the plaintiffs, is to "require Google to divest Chrome—a critical distribution point—to shield against self-preferencing."
District Judge Amit Mehta had already ruled back in August 2024 that Google had a monopoly in search, but how Google is ordered to resolve that remains up for debate—or, in this case, litigation.
Keep in mind—this is an ongoing case and the March 7 court filing is just a proposal from the DOJ, not a final ruling. Breaking up monopolies is certainly a good thing for consumers, but as PC Gamer's James Bentley has pointed out, "Selling off [Chrome] could indeed leave consumers open to bad practices, both technically and ethically, from the potential buyer."
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