The US government is considering whether to break up Google and end its monopoly in search

The US Department of Justice, following a major court decision in August that found Google had acted illegally to stifle the competition and maintain its monopoly on online search and advertising (via BBC), is now considering forcing the breakup of the tech titan. The DoJ's remedies are likely to be focused on products like Android and Chrome that it claims are used to unfairly push users and "advantage Google Search and Google search-related Products."

The DoJ's court filing states that "Google's illegal conduct persisted for more than a decade, and involved a variety of self-reinforcing strategies." "Unwinding this illegal behavior and achieving an effective antitrust remedy requires time, information (especially given the informational imbalances between Plaintiffs and Google), as well as careful consideration."

It continues to say that "serious issues of competition have plagued relevant markets for over a decade", leaving competitors unable gain any traction in both search and ads. This has allowed Google to increase the price of ads, "while reducing the quality of these ads and related services."

The DoJ states that potential remedies include "preventing Google from using products like Chrome, Play, or Android to benefit Google search and Google-related products and services--including emerging access points and features for search, such as AI--over rivals and new entrants." Chrome was the main target of the initial ruling. The court found that it "significantly limits the available distribution channels and disincentivizes new competition."

Google VP Lee-Anne Mulholland responded to the filing in a blog post with the measured title "DOJ's radical, sweeping proposals could hurt consumers, businesses and developers". It claims that DoJ's possible remedies will have "significant unintended effects for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness".

Mulholland says that the idea of separating Chrome or Android "would break them - and many other things." She portrays Android as an important public service that "helps to keep the price of phones low for millions of people", saying it has invested billions. The only losers would be developers and consumers.

One more amazing claim. Mulholland claims that Google, by paying Apple and Samsung billions of dollars a year for their search options to be the default on devices, is subsidizing those products. Yes, of course!

Google is estimated to handle over 3.5 billion search requests a day and, according to some estimates, accounts for 90% of online searches and 50% online advertising. The DoJ will make its initial recommendations in November. Google has until December to respond before the final recommendations are made next March. The court will have to accept these recommendations, but depending on how far the government wants to go, it could be the biggest split in the history of the big tech industry. Google's dominance over the internet is undeniable, and this could be the first time in decades that it begins to change.