The U.S. Justice Department is weighing the unprecedented move of breaking up Alphabet's Google following a landmark ruling that found the tech giant guilty of monopolizing the online search market.
According to Bloomberg, which spoke to insiders, this drastic step is among several options under consideration as officials look to curb Google's reach.
If pursued, this would mark Washington's first major attempt to dismantle a corporation for illegal monopolization since the unsuccessful efforts against Microsoft two decades ago.
Less severe measures being discussed include mandating Google to share more data with competitors or imposing restrictions to prevent it from gaining an unfair edge in artificial intelligence products.
One likely outcome of the government's action, regardless of its severity, is a ban on the exclusive contracts that were a central issue in the case against Google.
Should the Justice Department proceed with the breakup plan, the potential targets for divestiture could include Google's Android operating system and its web browser Chrome. The Android operating system powers approximately 2.5 billion devices globally.
There's also talk of a possible sale of Google's AdWords platform, the company's primary tool for selling text-based advertisements.
The discussions gained momentum after Judge Amit Mehta's August 5 ruling, which concluded that Google had illegally maintained its monopoly in online search and search advertising markets.
Any government plan would need to be approved by Judge Mehta, who would then direct Google to comply.
A forced breakup would be the largest of its kind since the dismantling of AT&T in the 1980s.
Concerns raised by Justice Department attorneys during consultations with businesses affected by Google's practices suggest that the company's dominance in search also grants it significant advantages in AI development.
As part of the potential remedies, the government could seek to prevent Google from compelling websites to allow their content to be used in the company's AI products as a condition for appearing in search results.
Judge Mehta's ruling was based on Google's agreements with device manufacturers, which mandate the inclusion of its search widget and Chrome browser in a way that blocks competitors from gaining a foothold.
Google reportedly paid up to $26 billion to secure its search engine as the default option on various devices and browsers, with $20 billion of that sum going to Apple.
Judge Mehta's ruling also determined that Google monopolized the market for search text ads, which are displayed at the top of search results pages and are a significant revenue source for the company.
Should the Justice Department refrain from demanding the sale of AdWords, it might instead require the platform to be made interoperable with other search engines.
