The US Division of Justice continues to be calling for Google to promote its internet browser Chrome, in line with a Friday court docket submitting.
The DOJ first proposed that Google ought to promote Chrome final 12 months, underneath then-President Joe Biden, however it appears to be sticking with that plan underneath the second Trump administration. The division is, nonetheless, not calling for the corporate to divest all its investments in synthetic intelligence, together with the billions Google has poured into Anthropic.
“Google’s unlawful conduct has created an financial goliath, one which wreaks havoc over the
market to make sure that — it doesn’t matter what happens — Google at all times wins,” the DOJ stated in a submitting signed by Omeed Assefi, its present performing lawyer normal for antitrust. (Trump’s nominee to guide antitrust for the DOJ nonetheless awaits affirmation.)
For that purpose, the DOJ stated it hasn’t modified the “core parts” of its preliminary proposal, together with the divestment of Chrome and a prohibition on search-related funds to distribution companions.
On AI, the DOJ stated it’s not calling for “the obligatory divestiture of Google’s AI investments” and can as a substitute be happy with “prior notification for future investments.” It additionally stated that as a substitute of giving Google the choice to divest Android now, it’s going to go away a future choice as much as the court docket, relying on whether or not the market turns into extra aggressive.
This proposal follows antitrust fits filed by the DOJ and 38 state attorneys normal, main Choose Amit P. Mehta to rule that Google acted illegally to keep up a monopoly in on-line search. Google has stated it’s going to attraction Mehta’s choice, however within the meantime supplied an alternate proposal that it stated would handle his considerations by offering companions with extra flexibility.
A Google spokesperson instructed Reuters that the DOJ’s “”sweeping proposals proceed to go miles past the Courtroom’s choice, and would hurt America’s customers, economic system and nationwide safety.”
Mehta is scheduled to listen to arguments from each Google and the DOJ in April.
