The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has just released a proposed final judgment in its antitrust case against Google, demanding significant structural changes to the company’s operations. Among these measures is the potential sale of Chrome.
The judgment asserts that Google has unlawfully maintained its monopoly through anticompetitive practices. According to the DOJ, “For over a decade, Google has unlawfully maintained its monopolies in general search services and search text advertising through a web of anticompetitive practices. As this Court concluded after a lengthy trial, ‘Google is a monopolist and has acted as such to maintain its monopoly’ in both general search services and search text advertising markets.”
The DOJ contends that Google has employed exclusionary practices, including contracts with third parties, to solidify its position as the default search engine and block competitors from entering the market. This includes substantial payments to companies like Apple to prevent the preinstallation of alternative search engines.
Additionally, the DOJ argues that Google has leveraged its control over Chrome and Android to promote its own services while excluding competitors.
Google’s methods have destabilized the market by excluding competitors and limiting their access to critical distribution channels. According to the DOJ, this has discouraged investment, as rivals, unable to compete on equal footing, have reduced their efforts in innovation.
This monopolistic behavior has also negatively affected advertisers and users. Google has maintained high advertising prices, decreased the quality of ads, and restricted the information available to advertisers.
To dismantle Google’s monopoly, restore market balance, and prevent future violations, the DOJ has outlined a series of structural and behavioral remedies in its judgment.
The most significant and controversial structural demand is the sale of Chrome. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the DOJ had been pressuring Google to divest itself of Chrome. According to the judgment, “Google must sell Chrome immediately and completely to a buyer approved by the Plaintiffs at their sole discretion, subject to terms approved by the Court and Plaintiffs.”
The DOJ argues that Google’s sale of Chrome is essential to “permanently end Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines to gain access to a browser that, for many users, serves as their gateway to the Internet.”
Additionally, the judgment proposes that Google be prohibited from reentering the browser market for five years. Furthermore, the company would be barred from “owning or acquiring any investments or interests in any rival search engine, search text advertising distributor, or AI-based query product or advertising technology rival.”
Regarding the proposed behavioral measures, the judgment from the United States Department of Justice requests that Google not be allowed to make payments to third parties to establish itself as the default search engine on their devices, nor enter into contracts that impose the exclusion of competitors.
Furthermore, it also “prohibits Google from entering into exclusive agreements with content publishers; bundling, tying, or integrating its general search engine or search access points with any other Google product.“
In terms of transparency, Google will be required to share key data with its rivals for 10 years, such as its search index, ranking signals, or query understanding information, so that the advantages it has gained through anticompetitive means are reduced. The judgment clarifies that it “only requires Google to syndicate queries originating in the United States.”
In addition to this, the company will have to provide advertisers with detailed data on the performance and costs of advertisements in real time in its search query reports. Moreover, it “requires Google to increase advertiser control by improving keyword matching options for advertisers.”
Google must also provide a choice screen on all its devices, allowing users to freely select their preferred search engine without being subjected to forced preference for Google.
Looking ahead, the document states that Google must not use any assets operated or owned by Google (including any software, website, device, service, dataset, algorithm, or application) to favor its search engine, search text ads, or Google’s artificial intelligence products.
Finally, the judgment includes a requirement for Google to fund a national education program aimed at informing users about the final resolution. “The purpose of the fund is to enhance the effectiveness of distribution remedies by informing users about the outcome of this litigation and the remedies included in the Final Judgment designed to increase user choice.”
The tech giant has swiftly responded to the publication of the judgment, announcing that it will present its own proposals next month. This case is shaping up to be a lengthy process that will take time to reach a definitive resolution.
Google has also used the opportunity to outline its reasons for believing that the DOJ’s decisions “will harm consumers and the global technological leadership of the United States.“ The company argues that, instead of proposing consistent solutions to the issues raised in the case, the United States Department of Justice “chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and the global technological leadership of the United States.”
According to Google, the DOJ’s exceedingly broad proposal goes far beyond the Court’s decision. “It would dismantle a series of Google products (even beyond Search) that people love and find useful in their daily lives.“
In short, Google believes that the DOJ ruling: jeopardizes the security and privacy of Americans, undermines the quality of its products, will reduce investment in AI, harms innovative services that rely on Google such as Firefox or Mozilla, and hinders access to Google Search.
Photo: GPT4
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