The U.S. government is taking significant steps towards ending what it considers an illegal monopoly held by Alphabet's Google. On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced its intention to ask a judge to compel Google to divest key parts of its business, including the Chrome browser and Android operating system.
In a landmark decision last August, a judge ruled that Google had established an unlawful monopoly by dominating 90 percent of U.S. internet searches. The proposed remedies aim to not only curb Google's current control but also prevent it from maintaining dominance in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector.
According to the Justice Department, "Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google's control of distribution today but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow." This could involve terminating Google's $26.3 billion annual payments to companies like Apple to keep its search engine preinstalled or set as the default on new devices.
Google has responded by calling the proposed measures "radical" and stating they "go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case," while planning to appeal the decision.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
