The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering several different options after a federal judge ruled last week that Google has an illegal monopoly over internet search. The most drastic option, according to a report from Bloomberg, would include breaking up the company, though other options would include forcing Google to share data with its rivals or paying large fines.
The Bloomberg report cites “people with knowledge of the deliberations” and notes that there are many different things being considered. But the New York Times also released a report late Tuesday confirming that DOJ officials are thinking about breaking up Google, something that would be exceptional, given the fact that the U.S. government tried and failed to do the same thing with Microsoft over 20 years ago.
Breaking up Google could take many different forms, including a forced divestment of the Android operating system and the Google Chrome browser, according to Bloomberg. Another option would be to force Google to sell AdWords, the way in which advertisers large and small buy ads on Google, though it’s not entirely clear how that would work, given the fact that AdWords is a huge part of how Google makes money through its primary business of internet searches.
Discussions are currently being held between DOJ officials and the state attorneys general that helped bring the antitrust case against Google, but whatever is proposed will need to be approved by the judge overseeing the case, Amit Mehta from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
As the Times points out, whatever happens with Google, this won’t be the final word on monopoly issues in tech. Apple, Amazon, and Meta are all facing their own antitrust cases. And you can bet all of Silicon Valley is keeping a close eye on what’s happening with Google right now.
Google didn’t respond to a request for comment late Tuesday. We’ll update this post if we hear back.
