Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has criticized a proposal from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that would require the company to divest its Chrome web browser, characterizing the suggestion as “extreme” and inconsistent with legal standards. Google has urged a federal judge to carefully consider the potential ramifications of such a decision, which could hinder innovation and discourage future investments.
In a legal brief submitted late Friday, Google addressed the DOJ’s recent request and outlined an alternative solution. The tech giant contended that selling Chrome does not align with the unlawful conduct identified by the judge, which involved exclusive agreements with various smartphone manufacturers, browsers, and telecommunications companies.
“Courts generally discourage extreme remedies,” Google stated in its filing. The company emphasized that any corrective actions taken in response to anticompetitive behavior must correspond to the nature of the violations.
Last month, the Justice Department, along with several states, petitioned Judge Amit Mehta to compel Google to sell its Chrome browser and implement a series of other modifications aimed at enhancing competition within the online search domain.
Google maintains that any remedies should enable competing browsers, such as Apple Inc.’s Safari, the flexibility to form partnerships with any search engine deemed most beneficial for their users. This point was articulated by Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president for regulatory affairs, in a blog post. The judge had previously ruled against Google’s practice of paying companies like Apple to secure default browser status.
Mulholland further explained that the company’s proposal would allow revenue sharing with competing browsers and support multiple default search engines across different platforms. This would permit device manufacturers to preload various search engines without the obligation to include Chrome or Google Search while installing other Google applications.
This filing marks Google’s initial response since Judge Mehta determined earlier this year that the company had unlawfully monopolized both online search and advertising sectors. Although Google has expressed its intention to appeal the ruling, it will wait until the conclusion of the ongoing case to do so.
“If the DOJ believed that Google’s investments in Chrome, our AI development, or our web crawling and algorithm advancements were anticompetitive, it could have pursued those cases. It chose not to,” Mulholland noted.
Judge Mehta has scheduled a hearing for April to deliberate on measures to enhance competition in the markets where Google holds a dominant position. A final decision is expected by August 2025.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment, referring to the agency’s previous statements regarding the case.
© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.
