US considers breaking up Google over online search monopoly: What it means

The US antitrust body has acknowledged Google's decade long domination on popular distribution channels, due to which its rivals have little-to-no incentive to compete

The United States is considering breaking up tech giant Google by asking a court to sell parts of its business in a bid to curb Google’s power in online search monopoly. The judge could also be asked to force Google to share its underlying data with competitors, Tuesday’s court filing read.

The United States antitrust authorities have recognised Google’s decade long domination on popular distribution channels, a dominance that has left competitors with scant incentive to challenge the tech giant. These measures are being considered in a bid to prevent Google from dominating future distributions, while addressing the current challenges.

For this, the US Department of Justice may opt for a structural reform route to curb Google’s influence in search business, facilitated by its popular products: Chrome, Android, artificial intelligence, or its mobile app store.

How Google reacted to the development?

In response to the Department of Justice’s court filing, Google’s Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, responded by saying that these requests exceed the specific legal issues at hand. 

However, a US district court observed that Google has illegally leveraged its dominance. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google illegally exploited its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. A trial on the proposed remedies for the case is scheduled for spring, while a decision on this matter is expected on this case by August 2025.

Google plans to appeal Mehta’s ruling, which could take as long as five years, Cornell University law professor George Hay predicts.

On Tuesday, a US judge also ruled that Google will have to allow rival app stories on its Play Store. In the case of Epic Games vs Google, Judge James Donato ordered Google to allow rival app stores on its platform starting November 1 for a period of three years.