A coalition of 38 state attorneys general and the Justice Department today proposed a final package of remedies to end Google’s illegal monopoly over internet search engines, restore competition in this marketplace, and benefit consumers nationwide.
The revised proposed final judgment sticks closely to what the states and the Justice Department offered in November in an initial filing with the D.C. federal district court judge who last year ruled in a landmark decision that Google is a monopolist in online search.
The state coalition, led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, has worked closely with the Justice Department to offer what the enforcers believe is a comprehensive and legally sound proposal that promises to tear down barriers to entry, restore competition, and invite renewed innovation and consumer benefits in the monopolized markets.
“For years, the Google browser has been the dominant gateway for users to search the internet. The states have worked closely with the DOJ on a robust set of remedies to end Google’s monopoly grip of the search market and search advertising, which has stifled innovation, undermined competition, and harmed consumers. Our proposed remedies are designed to restore competition in the search marketplace and benefit consumers,” said Weiser.
The package of remedies continues to propose a ban on all search-related payments to distribution partners, including Apple and Android partners. Google would also be required to divest Chrome, with the possible divestiture of additional assets, including potentially Android, if the initial set of remedies failed to address the marketplace harms or if Google undermined the effectiveness of the decree. The government plaintiffs would further be entitled to review Google’s future investments in and acquisitions of online search and generative AI competitors for a limited period to ensure Google cannot use the same monopolistic playbook with new technologies it has previously used.
Finally, the decree would deny Google its continuing exclusive control of ill-gotten gains by requiring the company to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with its competitors for a limited period of time. The revised proposal takes a more refined approach to the sharing of these types of data than the original proposal, accounting for important privacy considerations.
A hearing on the proposed remedies is scheduled to begin April 21 and conclude by May 9.
Orignal source can be found here.