The US government is threatening to break up Google to end its illegal monopoly on online search.
In a move that sparks a major clash between Silicon Valley and Washington, US lawmakers said tech giants could be forced to make major changes.
Google’s owner Alphabet could be ordered to sell parts of its business, including its Chrome internet browser and Android operating system.
And in a court filing released this week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said it will work to prevent Google from dominating the emerging field of artificial intelligence.
But the tech giants planning to appeal said the proposal was “radical” and could stifle American innovation. The ruling comes after a judge in August found in a landmark case that Google had created an illegal monopoly.
Breakup: Google owner Alphabet could be ordered to sell parts of its business, including the Chrome internet browser and Android operating system
The Silicon Valley company has become the go-to search engine for Internet users, accounting for about 90% of online searches.
The U.S. government accused Alphabet of using other products to force people to use its search engine and to sell ads to make money.
Google may be forced to stop paying companies like Apple billions of dollars to install its search engine on devices or set it as the default.
And to prevent Google’s dominance from extending into AI, the US may pressure Google to share its indexes, data and models with rivals.
“There will be significant changes in how people and businesses use and interact with the Internet in their lives, so this is clearly a It’s a poker game of eight.”
“Nothing major has changed for now, and until more details are known, investor enthusiasm for Alphabet will be muted for most of this year and next year.”
“This is going to be a long process with a lot of negotiation still going on, but the Department of Justice has fired over the bow of Alphabet.
Google said the proposal goes far beyond the specific legal issues in this case. ”
“Government overreach in a fast-moving industry can have unintended negative impacts on American innovation and American consumers,” said Lee Ann Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulation. We look forward to arguing our case in court. ”
The company, valued at more than $2 trillion, said its search engine wins users for its quality, adding that it faces stiff competition from rivals and that other search engines are available. Ta.
Alphabet, the world’s fourth-largest company, is under increasing legal pressure from global competitors and regulators.
In a separate case, a US judge ruled that Google must open up its Play app store to greater competition, including by making Android apps available from rival sources. .
The company is fighting a separate lawsuit in the United States seeking to break up its web advertising business. And the EU faces similar competitive challenges.
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