Parent Google shares fall as DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome browser

Shares of Google parent Alphabet fell more than 6% on Thursday after the Justice Department asked a federal judge to order the sale of Google’s Chrome web browser — one of several legal remedies aimed at breaking the Big Tech firm’s monopoly over internet search.

The stock’s decline signaled anxiety on Wall Street about Google’s future, as DOJ lawyers outlined a set of proposed fixes for Google’s business in filings late Wednesday.

US District Judge Amit Mehta will have the final say on what legal remedies should apply after ruling in August that Google has an illegal stranglehold on the search market. Any settlement ordered by Mehta could have devastating consequences for an empire that generates more than $300 billion in annual revenue.

A forced stripping of Chrome “will permanently end Google’s control over this key area of ​​search and allow rival search engines access to the browser that for many users is a gateway to the Internet,” the DOJ said. in her file.

In addition to selling Chrome, the feds say Google should either be required to sell its Android smartphone operating software or be barred from making search and other services mandatory on Android phones.

The judge could later order a sale of Android if Google doesn’t abide by the restrictions, the filing said. A Bloomberg analyst estimated this week that Chrome could be worth as much as $20 billion.

The DOJ also asked the judge to block Google from entering into exclusive agreements with Apple and other companies to ensure that its search engine is enabled by default on most smartphones.

During the trial, the feds argued that Google relies on payments — including $20 billion to Apple in 2022 alone — to amass more than 90% of the search market.

Government lawyers also want Google to be required to share data with rival search firms for a decade and to stop “self-preference” of its own products, such as YouTube or the Gemini AI chatbot.

Mehta is expected to issue his final ruling on remedies by next summer. If he decides to order a forced sale of Chrome, Google will be required to comply within six months of the final decision, pending the outcome of a potential appeal.

Google also faces a separate DOJ antitrust trial targeting its digital advertising empire, which is scheduled for closing arguments next week.

Google rejected the DOJ’s recommendations in a lengthy blog post.

The company’s chief legal officer Kent Walker — who has faced reprimands from multiple federal judges for his role in implementing a policy that led to the destruction of evidence in connection with antitrust investigations — described the DOJ outline as a ” radical interventionist agenda”.

“The DOJ’s extremely broad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s ruling,” Walker said in the post. “It would break a number of Google products — even beyond Search — that people love and find useful in their everyday lives.”

Google has signaled that it will appeal Mehta’s initial decision, as well as any legal remedies that are ordered.

Meanwhile, critics of the search giant praised the DOJ’s demands.

DuckDuckGo, a rival search engine whose founder Gabriel Weinberg testified against Google during the trial, was among those who spoke in favor of the prescription.

“The government has put forward a proposal that would free the search market from Google’s illegal control and usher in a new era of innovation, investment and competition,” said Kamyl Bazbaz, senior vice president of public affairs at DuckDuckGo.

“There is nothing radical in this proposal: it is firmly based on the court’s broad finding of fact and proposes solutions consistent with previous antitrust actions,” Bazbaz added.

However, not everyone is convinced that the DOJ’s proposals would be effective.

Bloomberg technology correspondent Mike Gurman called the idea of ​​a forced sale of Chrome “absurd.”

“Chrome is worth billions to Google, but not on the open market,” Gurman said. “And any company that buys it would just be creating a new monopoly.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory added another wrinkle to the battle for Google’s future.

For years, Trump has been an outspoken critic of Google, accusing the company of exhibiting political bias and even meddling in elections over allegedly biased search results.

However, Trump has recently said he is opposed to a breakup of the company because it would benefit China and other rivals such as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.

Elsewhere, Trump’s attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz has publicly called for a breakup of Google, but his confirmation to the key post is uncertain due to allegations of sexual misconduct during his time in Congress. .