The federal government is seeking to break up a tech giant for the first time in more than two decades. Antitrust officials are preparing to ask a federal judge to force Google to sell its Chrome operating system, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google monopolized the search engine space. The case dates back to 2020, when the Department of Justice and attorneys general from 38 states and territories sued Google for anticompetitive practices.
The lawsuit focused on Google’s practice of paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple and Samsung to have Google be the default search provider on those devices. The New York Times reported the company paid $18 billion in 2021 to secure the right.
The Justice Department is expected to ask Mehta for a number of remedies to reduce Google’s monopoly in the industry, according to Bloomberg, who spoke with people familiar with the matter.
The biggest action would be forcing Google to sell Chrome, which is the most-used web browser on the planet, according to Statcounter. The DOJ contends the browser is a gateway for users to end up on Google’s search engine.
But with more than 3 billion monthly active users, a Bloomberg analyst estimates Chrome could be worth up to $20 billion. The hefty price tag would make it hard to find a buyer with the capital and know-how to take over the product. While a company like Amazon could entertain the option, it has also been fighting accusations of anticompetitive practices.
If the judge does force the sale, it’ll give regulators the corporate-busting victory they failed to secure against Microsoft decades ago. But this step is one of the tallest orders. Bloomberg reports the officials could choose to go a lesser route if other actions make the search market more competitive
“The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Google Regulatory Affairs Vice President Lee-Anne Mulholland told Straight Arrow News in a statement. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
Initially, regulators contemplated having Google sell off the Android mobile operating system but chose not to go that direction. Instead, they are planning to force the company to unbundle Android from its other products, including the Google Play store and the search engine.
DOJ officials may also require Google to share more information with advertisers and give them greater power over where their ads are shown. They will also recommend Google sell its search data to competitors, which could boost rivals and, by nature, make for a more competitive environment.
Google said it would appeal the August ruling and the states are still proposing remedies, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Mehta set a two-week hearing in April 2025 on what remedies Google should take and plans to issue a final ruling by August 2025.
“If all of these appeals come about, we’re a good two years away from a final answer with respect to liability and remedies for a case that began in the second half of 2020,” former Federal Trade Commission Chair William Kovacic told Straight Arrow News in August. “I guess all of us can look at that and say, ‘Is that a sensible way to make decisions about such fundamental matters of economic policy and operation? A case that lasts the better part of seven years?’ But that’s what we’re in for going ahead.”
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