The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering breaking up Google, according to a Bloomberg report.
Following the DOJ win against Google in an antitrust case over the company’s search business (which Google plans to appeal), the next stage is determining remedies for Google’s monopoly. Breaking the company up is one such remedy and one that is being considered, people “with knowledge of the deliberations” told Bloomberg.
The New York Times also reported that DOJ officials are considering breaking Google up. Notably, the DOJ attempted but failed to break Microsoft up in the early 2000s.
Bloomberg also detailed some of the possible options for breaking up Google, including divesting the Android operating system. Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reportedly discussed this remedy frequently, given in his decision; he found that Google required device makers to sign agreements to get important apps like Gmail and the Google Play Store on their Android devices. Those agreements also required the inclusion of Google’s search widget and Chrome browser, which also defaults to Google search.
Another possible remedy could call for Google to sell off its AdWords division, or force the company to make it interoperable with other search engines.
Alternatively, Google could be forced to divest or license its data to rivals. That could include Microsoft, with its Bing search engine, or DuckDuckGo.
Whatever the DOJ decides, there’s still a long process ahead. Any remedies will need to be approved by Mehta, and there’s also Google’s appeal to contend with. It could be years before we see the impacts of this antitrust case.
Source: Bloomberg, New York Times Via: Gizmodo
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