The possibility of demanding the split of Google marks a profound change by the US competition authorities
The US government on Wednesday night asked a judge to order the breakup of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
In a court filing, the US Justice Department urged a reorganization of Google’s business that includes banning deals to make Google the default search engine on smartphones and preventing it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.
The prospect of requiring Google to be spun off marks a profound shift by US competition authorities, who have largely left the tech giants alone since their failure to dismantle Microsoft 20 years ago.
Last summer, Amit Mehta, a federal judge in Washington, found Google guilty of illegal practices to establish and maintain its monopoly on online searches.
The judge could hand down a sentence in August 2025, after receiving the official request from the authorities in November and hearing both parties in a special hearing in April.
The Department of Justice wants Google to get rid of Chrome, the most used web browser in the world, because it is one of the main access points to the search engine, which reduces the possibilities of other competitors.
According to the StatCounter website, Google captured 90% of the global online search market in September and 94% on smartphones.
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