Google is one of the world’s biggest tech players, but it might not hold that spot for long. Currently, it is under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). As per media reports, the DOJ is looking for some big measures, including breaking up Alphabet’s Google. This comes straight after the landmark antitrust ruling where the court ruled that Google had illegally monopolised the online search market.
As soon as this news dropped, shares of Alphabet, the California-based parent company of Google, fell by 1.4% in extended trading following the news. As per the ruling, Google violated antitrust laws by spending billions of dollars to secure its position as the world’s default search engine.
Now, to deal with this the DOJ is looking at several solutions. One of these is that it will have to force Google to share its vast data resources with competitors and implement measures to prevent the company from gaining an unfair advantage in emerging AI technologies. Another option is to divest Google’s Android operating system, which is used by billions of devices worldwide.
Also read: Google ruled an illegal monopoly: Impact on future of Search and Big Tech
A Bloomberg report further reveals that there is a possibility that Google will be forced to sell off key assets such as AdWords, its highly profitable search advertising program, and the Chrome web browser, which dominates the browser market.
All this is a part of DOJ’s broader effort to deal with monopolistic practices in the tech industry. Over the past four years, federal antitrust regulators have also targeted other major tech companies, including Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, and Apple.
Both Alphabet and the DOJ declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters. Let’s now see how things will pan out for Google in the coming future.