If it were to be applied, the sanction would be historic against Google, singled out for its anti-competitive practices. The American government asked the courts on Wednesday, November 20, to order the technology giant to part with its Chrome Internet browser, the most used in the world.
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Google was found guilty in the summer of 2024 by Amit Mehta, a federal judge in Washington, of illegal practices to establish and maintain its monopoly in online search. The magistrate could decide on the sentence in August 2025, after receiving the official request from the authorities in November and hearing both parties during a special hearing in April.
The possibility of demanding a Google split marks a profound shift by U.S. competition authorities who have largely left the tech giants alone since their failure to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
The transfer of Android also requested
In a court document, the Ministry of Justice calls for a split of the activities of the subsidiary of the Alphabet group, also prohibiting Google from signing agreements with manufacturers to impose the default use of its search engine on smartphones.
The ministry wants Google to divest itself of Chrome because it is a major access point to the search engine, undermining the chances of potential competitors. According to the Statcounter website, in September the company accounted for 90% of the global online search market and even 94% on smartphones.
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The authorities also want to prevent Google from taking advantage of its Android mobile operating system to promote its other products. They are even demanding that the technological giant give it up for lack of proposing developments in this direction.
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