Possible steps against Google
In Tuesday’s lawsuit, antitrust authorities say Judge Amit Mehta could also order the Alphabet unit providing access to basic data that is used to build search results and artificial intelligence products.
The Justice Department is “considering behavioral and structural remedies that would make Google could not use products such as Chrome, Play and Android to obtain advantages for the Google search engine and related products (…) over rivals or new entities entering the market,” the lawsuit reads.
The Justice Department also said it could require Google to give websites more options to opt out of using artificial intelligence products.
The solutions considered also included a ban on investing in competitive search engines or potential rivals.
The 32-page document outlines a framework of potential options the judge could consider. The Justice Department said it would present a more complete proposal on possible actions next month.
This information resulted in a decline of 0.3%. on stock index futures contracts Nasdaq 100in which shares of Alphabet, the owner of Google, are among the main components.
Antitrust activities
The current attempt to reduce Google’s monopoly is the largest of its kind in 20 years. Earlier attempts were made – unsuccessfully – break Microsoft’s monopoly.
US antitrust authorities say that Google gained scale and data advantages through illegal distribution deals that made Google Search the default option on smartphones and web browsers.
Google’s reaction
The company criticized the Justice Department’s lawsuit as “radical,” adding that this could have “significant unintended consequences for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness.”
“We believe that today’s plan goes far beyond the legal scope of the court’s decision on search engine distribution agreements,” wrote Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of legal affairs.
