Google fights DOJ after being potentially threatened to break up Android & Google Search

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering asking a judge to potentially break up parts of Google’s business, which some interpret as a potential threat to break up Android and Google Search, the default search engine for the mobile operating system.

The DOJ considers the break up following a landmark ruling that found Google holds a monopoly in the search market. The department wants to explore both behavioral and structural remedies to prevent Google from using products like Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage its search engine.

“Google’s illegal maintenance of monopolies in these two markets has been sustained and reinforced for over ten years,” says the DOJ in the ten-page document, saying that they will submit their final proposal by November 20th.

Google now fights back in a blog update, saying that the DOJ proposals are “radical” and “risk hurting consumers, business, and developers.”

Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP for Regulatory Affairs, says that that the DOJ’s plans, which include sharing sensitive user data and potentially breaking up its services like Chrome and Android, may lead to privacy risks and a decline in security.

“Government overreach in a fast-moving industry may have negative unintended consequences for American innovation and America’s consumers,” Mulholland mentions, warning that such changes could stifle competition in emerging tech like AI and disrupt the online advertising market.

In January 2023, the DOJ has accused Google of unfair practices to maintain its dominance in online advertising and search in one of the biggest, ongoing antitrust cases in recent years. They claim Google limits competition by making deals with smartphone makers to pre-install services like Search, reducing consumer choices.