U.S. Department of Justice Considers Forcing Google to Divest Its Search Business for Independent Operation

In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ruled that Google indeed holds an illegal monopoly in the online search sector and must make corrections to foster innovation and competition in the search engine market.

Rumors are circulating that the DOJ is contemplating compelling Google to divest its search operations. This means separating Google Search from Google or Alphabet's control and having it run by an independent company.

The antitrust case against Google has raised concerns about whether Google has too much control over how people find information online. In the U.S. market alone, Google Search's share is as high as 90%, giving it a dominant position that stifles competition.

The DOJ believes that the situation created by Google Search not only limits people's choices but also stifles industry innovation due to Google's monopoly. Increasing competition would provide consumers with more options and better services, ultimately benefiting them.

Following this ruling, smaller companies like DuckDuckGo and Yelp are pushing for significant changes in how Google operates its search engine. Some of these smaller companies believe that Google's Chrome browser is a major reason for Google Search's monopoly and should be divested from Google.

Other companies/competitors want to prohibit Google from paying Apple to be the default search engine on Safari. Currently, Google pays Apple a substantial fee annually to be the default search engine, despite Microsoft's repeated attempts to negotiate Bing as the default search engine, which Apple has consistently declined.

However, it's still unclear whether the divestiture will involve Google Search or the Chrome browser. But the existence of such rumors indicates that the DOJ is indeed considering factors that could lead to Google Search's monopoly and contemplating their divestiture.

For Google and the entire Alphabet company, divesting either Google Search or the Chrome browser would be significant bad news. Google Search's advertising business is one of Google's pillars, and the Chrome browser is a key factor in driving higher market shares for Google Search.

There's also speculation within the industry about another possibility: the DOJ might force the complete breakup of Google into several smaller companies. This could involve separating the search engine and advertising business, the Android ecosystem, and possibly even YouTube.

Regardless of whether a breakup occurs, the DOJ is likely to impose various new regulations on Google concerning its search engine, ensuring that Google Search does not prioritize its own services over those of competitors.