Shares of Google parent Alphabet plunged nearly 5% early Monday in the first trading session since President Trump’s Justice Department confirmed it is seeking a breakup of the online search giant’s monopoly.
DOJ attorneys formally asked US District Judge Amit Mehta to force Google to sell off its Chrome web browser. Mehta ruled last August that Google was a “monopolist” with an illegal stranglehold on the search market, fueled in part by billions in payments to partners like Apple to ensure its search engine is enabled by default on most smartphones.
In a scathing court filing late Friday, the DOJ said Google had relied on “illegal conduct” to create an “economic goliath” that “wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that — no matter what occurs — Google always wins.”
“The American people thus are forced to accept the unbridled demands and shifting, ideological preferences of an economic leviathan in return for a search engine the public may enjoy,” the DOJ said in its court filing.
The selloff occurred alongside broader market turmoil that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq index plunge nearly 600 points, or 3.2%. Alphabet shares are down nearly 13% since the start of the year.
The proposal was largely in line with the remedies first outlined in a preliminary filing by then-President Biden’s DOJ last year. It confirmed that a crackdown on Google is likely to continue under Trump, who has been sharply critical of the company’s practices.
Google Chrome accounts for “more than 30 percent of search inquiries,” according to the filing.
The feds said that Google should have to end its “default search engine” partnerships with Apple, AT&T and other firms. Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 alone to be the default engine on its Safari browser.
Google should also be required to share its data related to search and digital ads with rivals to help ensure a level playing field.
The DOJ also recommends forcing Google to divest its Android operating system if initial remedies are “not effective.”
In a shift from its past position, however, the DOJ dropped its request that Google be forced to sell off its investments in artificial intelligence firms, such as Anthropic. Instead, Google should provide advance notice for “future investments” in AI.
Mehta will hold hearings in April to consider arguments from the DOJ and Google on proposed remedies. The judge’s final decision is expected this summer.
Google has vowed to appeal the judge’s ruling on the case.
A Google spokesperson said the DOJ’s “sweeping proposals continue to go miles beyond the Court’s decision, and would harm America’s consumers, economy and national security.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was one of several tech executives who attended Trump’s inauguration in January as part of an industry-wide effort to reset relations with the president.
Company executives also met with Trump officials in recent weeks to push for leniency in the search case, Bloomberg reported. Google argued in part that any forced breakup could jeopardize national security.
