Mark Mahaney, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, discusses whether the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google will impact Varney & Co.’s stock price.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly suing Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell its Chrome internet browser, which the Justice Department says has been used to maintain an illegal monopoly on online search. He plans to make a request to the government.
A federal judge ruled in August that Google had built an illegal monopoly on internet searches, with more than 90% of searches being processed through the search engine giant.
Bloomberg News reported Monday that the Justice Department will demand action related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system from the judge who ruled against Google for illegally monopolizing the search market. It also reported that it will ask a judge to force the internet giant to do so. The company is selling its popular Chrome internet browser.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % GOOG ALPHABET INC. 176.80 +2.91 +1.67%
“The Department of Justice continues to advance an extreme agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” LeeAnne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulation, said in a statement to FOX Business on Monday. . “If the government takes a strong stance in this way, it will harm consumers, developers, and America’s technological leadership exactly when we need it most.”
Justice Department considers breaking up Google after internet search monopoly ruling
A federal judge ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly on internet search. (Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)
The Department of Justice did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment on this matter.
If successful, the move would likely be one of the Biden administration’s most aggressive moves against what it claims is a Big Tech monopoly.
Still, it may be President-elect Donald Trump who will have the biggest impact on this case. Mr. Trump initially said about two months before the presidential election that he intended to sue Google for what he believed to be biased behavior against him. After about a month, he changed his mind and began to question whether it was a good idea to dissolve the company.
Google faces another Justice Department antitrust lawsuit over ad tech monopoly allegations
The Justice Department is expected to ask a judge to force Google to sell its Chrome internet browser. (Roberto Machado Noah/Lightrocket via Getty Images)
Once U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issues a final ruling, which could be by August 2025, according to Reuters, Google plans to appeal.
The Justice Department’s proposed remedies could significantly impact how Americans find information on the Internet, while shrinking Google’s revenue and giving competitors an opportunity to grow.
In October, the Justice Department said it could ask a court to force Google to sell its Chrome browser and Android operating system to address monopoly issues.
It could also ask a court to stop Google from paying for its search engine to be preinstalled or set as the default on new devices, or to share search data with other competing providers. .
Google’s antitrust ruling could pose a $20 billion risk to Apple
Department of Justice building in Washington DC (Stephanie Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/File)
Prosecutors have also indicated that they will seek to prevent Google from dominating the growing field of artificial intelligence (AI), including restricting Google’s access to AI rivals’ content and allowing websites to train Google’s content. suggested that it could be possible to opt out of or be prohibited from using it. AI model.
To maintain its market share, Google pays Apple and other device makers every year to make its search engine the default on smartphones and web browsers. In 2021, Google earned $26.3 billion from these payments.
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Google also warned that splitting Chrome and Android from Google would be “breaking” because they are currently open source and free.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
