Google’s monopoly over the search market may soon be unwound, as the judge in the long-running search antitrust case is poised to issue a ruling that could force the tech giant to sell off key assets including the Chrome browser.
Bloomberg reports that after Google lost its biggest legal challenge to date when Judge Amit Mehta ruled in 2024 that the company illegally monopolized the search market. Following that verdict, the antitrust case entered a remedies phase in which both the DOJ and Google proposed ways that the internet giant’s monopoly power could be tamed. Now, as Judge Mehta prepares to issue his decision on potential remedies, the tech giant faces the possibility of a forced breakup — the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the dismantling of AT&T in 1984.
The DOJ has called for drastic measures to address Google’s anticompetitive practices, including the sale of its popular Chrome web browser and the licensing of its search data to competitors. These proposed remedies aim to level the playing field and foster greater competition in the search market, which Google has long held a stranglehold on.
Google’s Chrome browser, along with the open-source Chromium software, has become the primary means for users to access the internet on their PCs. As news of the potential breakup spreads, AI companies such as OpenAI and Perplexity have already expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, recognizing the browser’s significant market share and value.
The forced sale of Chrome would be a major blow to Google, as the browser has been a key component of the company’s ecosystem and a driver of its advertising revenue. By separating Chrome from Google’s other products and services, the government hopes to create a more competitive landscape where other companies can innovate and offer alternative search and browsing experiences.
Additionally, the requirement to license Google’s search data to competitors would provide them with the necessary resources to develop and improve their own search algorithms. This move could spur innovation and give users more choice when it comes to searching the web, potentially loosening Google’s grip on the market.
Google has frequently demonstrated a willingness to leverage its search monopoly to further its own goals, whether related to its business or the company’s political bias. Google has long chosen winners and losers with its search algorithm. As Breitbart News proved with an in depth investigation of the internet giant’s censorship practices, Google purged Breitbart from search results leading up to the 2020 election:
Search visibility is a key industry measure of how findable a publisher’s content is in Google search. New data shows that Google has suppressed Breitbart’s search visibility by 99.7 percent since 2016.
On April 4, 2016, Breitbart ranked in the top ten search positions (i.e., on the first page of Google search results) for 355 key search terms; but now, as of July 20, 2020, Breitbart ranks in the top ten search positions for only one search term. And, on April 4, 2016, Breitbart ranked in the top 100 search positions for 16,820 key search terms; but now, as of July 20, 2020, Breitbart ranks in the top 100 search positions for only 55 search terms.
Moreover, organic Google search traffic to Breitbart (measured by unique visitors) is down 63 percent when comparing the first half of 2016 with the first half of 2020.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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