Jake Silva Nurphoto Getty Images
Alphabet shares fell 4% on Thursday, after the Justice Department asked Google to release its Chrome browser as a remedy to an antitrust case.
The proposed split would, according to a DOJ filing Wednesday night, “permanently end Google’s control over this critical search access point and allow competing search engines to access the browser that for many users is the gateway to the internet.”
It’s the latest development in a years-long bipartisan antitrust battle against Google. In August, a federal judge ruled that the company had an illegal monopoly on search and text ads, violating Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The DOJ’s request represents the agency’s most aggressive effort to crack down on tech companies since the antitrust case against Microsoft, which ended in 2001.
Chrome, which Google launched in 2008, provides the search giant with data that it then uses to target ads. The DOJ said in a filing that forcing the company to get rid of Chrome would create a more level playing field for search competitors.
“To remedy this harm, (the Early Proposed Final Judgment) would require Google to abandon Chrome, which would end Google’s control over this critical search access point and allow competing search engines to gain access to the browser that for many users is the gateway to the internet,” the 23-page content read. .
In addition, the DOJ said that Google should be prevented from entering into exclusive agreements with third parties like Apple and Samsung. The department also said Google should be banned from offering search service options in other products.
The remedy must prevent Google from eliminating “competitive threats arising through acquisitions, minority investments, or partnerships,” the DOJ said, adding that it must run for 10 years.
“The proposed remedy is designed to stop Google’s unlawful practices and open up the market to competitors and new entrants,” the filing said.
Search ads accounted for $49.4 billion in Alphabet’s third quarter, representing three-quarters of total ad sales in the period.
In addition to the call for Google to sell Chrome, the DOJ said that forcing the search company to release the Android mobile operating system would also help restore competition, “but the Plaintiff acknowledges that the divestment could attract significant objections from Google or other market participants.”
However, the DOJ suggested that other remedies should be sufficient to “accelerate Google’s ability to use the control of the Android ecosystem to choose its search services in general,” and if it “ultimately fails to meet the high standards for important relief in this critical market, the Court may require a return to” Android divestiture advice.
In a blog post on Thursday, Kent Walker, Google’s chief legal officer, called the DOJ’s proposal an “overbroad proposal” that would affect privacy and investment in artificial intelligence at a critical time.
Walker added that it “goes beyond the Court’s decision” and “will take away a whole range of Google products — even beyond Search.”
Google has said it will appeal the monopoly judgment, which will leave any final remedy decisions.
WATCH: Traders say regulatory headwinds in the Big Tech space
