Google, the tech company so prolific its name has become a common noun, is now facing being broken up after regulators said it had become an ‘abusive monopoly.’ The US Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to force the sale of Google’s Chrome web browser, one of a string of measures aimed at ‘punishing’ Google for anti-competitive practices. In a 23-page document filed on Wednesday, November 20, the DOJ also called for Google’s Android operating system to be barred from having an integrated search engine – but came short of calling for the tech giant to sell off its Android software entirely.

Google responds to ‘dangerous’ DOJ demands

Google’s Chief Legal Officer has lashed out at the DOJ filing, claiming the proposals would present a danger to the privacy and safety of Americans. Writing in a blog post on Thursday, Kent Walker said:

“DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.

“As the Court said, Google offers “the industry’s highest quality search engine, which has earned Google the trust of hundreds of millions of daily users.”

“We’re still at the early stages of a long process and many of these demands are clearly far afield from what even the Court’s order contemplated. We’ll file our own proposals next month, and will make our broader case next year.”

It comes after the DOJ accused Google of anticompetitive practices, by providing its search engine with user data extracted from its Chrome browser. Regulators argued that by forcing the tech giant to sell the browser, they would create a more even playing field for competition, arguing that:

“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet.”

Google’s long-running battle with the DOJ

Google has been in a long-running spat with the DOJ over a number of its business practices. In January 2023 the DOJ filed a suit against Google for ‘monopolising digital advertising technologies.’

The Justice Department complained that Google had engaged in “anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct” and that the Attorney General sought to ‘restore competition to an important marketplace.’

In October 2020 the DOJ launched a separate suit against Google for “unlawfully maintaining monopolies.” Then Attorney General Bill Barr said at the time that “Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google — the gatekeeper of the Internet — for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people.”

The court ruled that Google had acted illegally, but Google continues to deny the charges. In a statement following the decision a spokesperson for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said: “This decision recognises that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.”

Google under fire on multiple fronts

Google has also faced legal action from the EU, which has sought to impose billions of Euros in penalties on the tech giant. In September Google successfully overturned a £1.26 billion fine in a top European court, after it ruled that there were ‘errors’ in its assessment of the company’s behaviour.

However, as the BBC reported, this was a ‘rare win’ for the American company, which has repeatedly been hit with enormous fines by the bloc. In a September report they wrote that:

“It is a rare win for the tech giant, which was hit with fines worth a total of 8.2 billion euros between 2017 and 2019 over antitrust violations. It failed in its attempt to have one of those fines overturned last week.

“It is not just in Europe where it is under pressure over its highly lucrative ad tech business. Earlier this month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally found it used anti-competitive practices to dominate the market.”

Will Google be forced to break up?

Google is not likely to take the DOJ proposals lying down and is expected to file a counterargument next month before a final ruling is issued in August. However, Google has stated its intention to appeal which observers say could postpone a final resolution for years.

Several industry figures have come out to condemn the DOJ, including Chris Mohr, president of the Software and IT Industry Association who branded their proposals as ‘extreme.’ In a statement he said:

“The extreme remedies recommended by the Department of Justice benefit no one other than Google’s business competitors while harming both the consumers who really like Google services and the developers who benefit from the current ecosystem,”

He was joined by the executive director of the Connected Commerce Council who said if enacted, the proposals would hurt small businesses which “leverage Google’s secure, cost-effective integrated tools to run and grow their businesses.”

These are arguments which might be given more purchase by the incoming Trump administration, which will install a new Attorney General after the President-Elect takes power in January. The President Elect’s ‘America First’ posture is likely to lend itself toward a more charitable treatment of Google, whose parent company is the eighth biggest in the country.

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has reportedly called Trump on a number of occasions in recent weeks, including to tell the then-nominee that his campaign stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s was “one of the single biggest events we’ve ever had at Google.” More recently it is understood Pichai called Trump to congratulate him on his election win – but it is not known what else was said on the call.

Rebecca Allensworth, an anti-trust professor at the Vanderbilt Law School believes the incoming administration could take a softer approach toward Google than the Biden administration. In comments to the BBC, she said: “I think that the federal government will stay on it but just how hard they’ll push and what they’ll ask for, I think, is really uncertain.”

On the campaign trail, Trump revealed Tim Cook had called him to complain of cumulative fines issued against Apple for $17 billion. Candidate Trump pledged: “I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies, that won’t be happening.” Given his views on foreign courts fining American companies, there’s some chance he won’t be keen on his own Justice Department doing the same thing.

Is Google a monopoly?

The DOJ’s push to break up Google is part of an ongoing battle between regulators and Big Tech. While the Justice Department works to curb perceived anti-competitive practices, they have sparked debate about their potential repercussions on consumers, businesses, and the broader tech ecosystem. Critics argue that such measures could hinder innovation, disrupt widely used services and boost foreign competitors in the tech sector.

Google views the DOJ’s proposals as unwarranted overreach. Industry groups and allies have echoed these concerns, warning that the proposed breakup could hurt industry and consumers. However, Google’s critics maintain that decisive action is necessary to restore competition and prevent the company from leveraging its dominant market position to stifle rivals. The outcome of this case will likely set a precedent for the future of antitrust enforcement against tech giants. With Google preparing its counterarguments and an appeal likely to stretch the process out for years, the final resolution remains uncertain. Meanwhile, shifting political landscapes, including the incoming Trump administration’s potential influence, add further unpredictability. The question of Google’s alleged monopoly status will ultimately be for the court to answer.