DOJ urges suspension of Google search monopoly in antitrust lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an effort to reduce Google’s dominance in the search engine market. The proposal could change the landscape of Big Tech.

In an Oct. 8 filing, the Justice Department accused Google of maintaining an illegal monopoly and called for the company to split its search business as part of ongoing antitrust litigation.

DOJ is targeting Google.

A proposal from the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks significant changes to break Google’s dominance over search and advertising. This includes structural changes, such as spinning off parts of Google’s search business, and behavioral changes aimed at protecting consumers and promoting competition.

One of the key aspects of the proposal is to prevent Google from leveraging its dominance to control emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The DOJ also proposed that Google should be required to share search data and indexes with competitors and that websites should be able to opt out of having their content used to train AI models.

The DOJ also recommends establishing a “court-appointed technical committee” to oversee Google’s compliance with the new regulations.

None of these actions are final, but they are all considered in the DOJ’s proposal.

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Google defended its business practices in a blog post on Oct. 9 and warned of far-reaching consequences for the tech industry.

“Government overreach in a rapidly changing industry could have unintended negative consequences for American innovation and American consumers.”

However, this is not the only case in which Big Tech companies were criticized for their monopolistic business practices last year.

why it happens

The Justice Department’s action against Google is the culmination of a years-long investigation into the company’s search monopoly, maintained through exclusive deals with web browser and mobile phone manufacturers.

These agreements ensure that Google’s search engine remains the default option for billions of users, stifling competition and innovation in the digital ecosystem.

As the DOJ notes in its proposal, this stranglehold would limit consumer choice and give Google disproportionate control over the flow of information. On September 23, the DOJ filed a similar lawsuit against payments giant Visa, claiming its tactics were a payments monopoly.

But when it comes to Google and the larger tech sector, there’s more to it than just a search engine.

Big Tech on Watch

Regulators are increasingly concerned about the role big tech companies are playing in shaping the future of AI, which will drive the next generation of technological innovation.

One fear is that Google’s dominance in search could be interpreted as monopoly control over AI. The more data Google collects, the more powerful its AI models become, raising concerns about competition in the fast-growing field of generative AI.

Already, European Union regulators have begun investigating tech giants such as Apple, Google and Meta for alleged violations of digital markets law in March 2024.

In August 2024, British regulators investigated web services giant Amazon for investing $4 billion in Anthropic AI, one of the industry’s best models.

In its response to the DOJ, Google warned that breaking up its search business would impact its AI efforts and overall profitability, ultimately making it more difficult for the company to compete globally.

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