Google in Talks with Trump’s DOJ to Avoid Breakup of Search Monopoly
Google is engaged in high-stakes discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to prevent potential antitrust actions that could force a historic breakup of the tech giant. The meetings come after a federal judge ruled in August 2024 that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over search services, leading the DOJ to consider remedies such as breaking up key parts of the company.
The DOJ’s proposed measures include the possible divestiture of Google’s Chrome browser and the termination of agreements that set Google Search as the default option on major platforms. If enforced, these actions could fundamentally reshape the internet search landscape and weaken Google’s dominance in digital advertising.
In response, Google has been aggressively lobbying against the proposed breakup, arguing that such drastic measures could harm the American economy and national security. Company representatives reportedly told DOJ officials that forcing the sale of Chrome could compromise user security, disrupt technological innovation, and create unintended consequences for businesses relying on Google's ecosystem.
The case has drawn significant attention from the tech industry and policymakers, with both sides expected to present their final arguments in court later this year. A trial to determine the appropriate remedies is set to begin in April, with a final ruling anticipated in August 2025.
As the battle intensifies, Google is fighting not just to preserve its business model, but to maintain its dominant position in the search market. The outcome of this case could set a major precedent for future antitrust actions against other tech giants, making it one of the most closely watched legal battles in Silicon Valley’s history.
Source: New York Post
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The government’s/court’s reasoning here is BS. Still, a company that creates Manifest v3 and forces it down your throat shouldn’t be allowed to also force its own ad infrastructure down your throat. Mv3 is why Google shouldn’t be allowed to control Chrome/Chromium.
Everyone can see it a mile away. Trump is threatening Google to break them apart unless they pay him blood money, which Goolgle will gladly comply. Or Trump will demand that Google blindly obey all of his commands or he’ll shut them down, which Goolgle will gladly comply
Anyone who thinks this is good or fair are just braindead. People choose Google even today, you look at anyone streaming on the internet and they will most likely use Google and Google search.
They should stop the weird deals though, but you can argue that the search deals are not that weird… because even Microsoft and others do it, if they want to waste money when Firefox users are going to change the search engine oh well, and if they want to force Apple to use Google Search by paying tons of money, well, that’s not good for the consumer, but they are the ones who are inflating it, and it is their money and if people choose awful Apple products, well, I am sure they don’t care if the search results are from Google, Brave or Bing or Moojek as long as it works. But breaking a company because it is successful, that’s some type of Cuba crap, when you have a successful business with tourists like a restaurant and then the government comes and take it from you, because nobody can be successful under mediocre governments and their seek of power and control, not even kings were like this, but somehow these weirdos in every country think they should control every aspect of everyone.
This is exactly the mediocre mentality people have when companies choose Chromium, an open source project, as an engine, and then some people call it ‘monopoly’, well, if Gecko and Webkit weren’t the way they are, more companies would choose it, even Brave, founded by Brendan Eich who founded Mozilla and worked in Firefox for many years, dropped Gecko from Brave before it was too late and went Chromium, and he is not regretting it, because Chromium was and it is still better than Chromium.
They say they even want to break Chrome from Google, but Chromium is and will be open source and controlled by Google, so that shows you people making these type of cases and wasting tax payers money in dumb stuff, don’t have an idea how technology works… so what will this solve? nothing.
This applies to everything not just Google, you can see it when a big company buys another big company and somehow they need ‘permission’ from governments to approve the deal… like… it’s just ridiculous, that’s how government tries to control everyone, and they make excuses about people’s freedoms and choices to make people believe this is made for a common good.
I don’t even like Google and I argue about this ridiculous idea of breaking a company and being forced to do whatever governments want like if they weren’t paying big chunks of taxes (even with their massive tax cuts), it’s like the whole Tiktok crap, yeah… it is fine to block an app or service from your country, but dictating an ultimatum “sell to an american company or be done” is a ridiculous and complete garbage ideology.
Most people choose Google because it works for them, most people choose Chrome because it works for them… people make it seem like Firefox marketshare and IE/Edge marketshare somehow fell because of Chrome, but it was because of Firefox and Microsoft themselves doing dumb moves.
Now look at the difference, Firefox marketshare keeps falling and Edge has been raising since they finally moved to Chromium and stopped wasting time and money trying to rebuild an engine, engines job is to render the stupid page, and people make it like some type of ideology “Chromium monopoly” when it works, and if it works and gives developers useful APIs every month, then… what’s wrong about it?
Tiktok for example started using the document-pip for Chromium desktop users and in Firefox or webkit you won’t get it, well, their developers saw an opportunity to use it because they saw it useful, is that wrong to do? no, Firefox and Apple can add the same if they want to, nothing has to stick to ‘standards’ that take longer to implement because “we have to play nice and fair”.
Google took advantage of the internet, and won. Look at the tvs, the better ones need Android OS, the phones and all. Even if you hate google you have to admit that everything they have done has been adopted because it works, like streaming a movie from app to tv through Chromecast protocol or your Chromium browser. Android being open that you don’t even need Google to use it and you can sideload apps and all. Chromebooks are crap, but they became successful because they were meant for cheaper devices, something hard to find in Windows and obviously Apple OSs, even new Windows on ARM is costly today, just as using Intel or AMD, so it is pretty much not fixing anything at the moment.
A company being successful shouldn’t be a matter of ‘breaking it up’, imagine if it was your company, and you were force to sell parts of it because the government says it? how is that freedom? how is that part of a free market where people spoke with their money and marketshare?
I hope Trump administration doesn’t follow this ridiculous case of breaking companies only because people use them.
It’s funny how so many anti-Google people forget that the reason why many Browsers can’t compete is because they don’t have the resources to support two complete different versions of their browsers, one for Desktop and Android and the other for Apple devices where webkit is only allowed, that is more dangerous for consumers because only big companies could hire iOS exclusive developers to try to match parity with their Android browser, and people don’t seem to raise any concerns about it like happened in EU, where it is allowed for iOS browsers not to be Webkit, but it is useless because a company will not just release a Chromium browser for EU and keep using the same webkit anywhere else, not a small company. This impacts small companies and consumers more, because they get less features, companies need to hire more developers unnecessarily or they could be using more developers for their android or desktop browsers… but apparently nobody cares about it. I don’t think it should be illegal, people should speak with their wallet and drop Apple devices just for this reason, but they won’t, so Apple wins and that’s fine because that’s what happens when you are popular and people seem to ‘love you’ enough. Google? well, Google being everywhere and anywhere and paying money in search deals is not a concern because in most cases you can just switch search engines in 3 clicks.
You don’t need to like Google to understand basics and know this will not do much. You could argue that this will also affect the beloved Mozilla/Firefox some people love, and it will not fix anything because Chrome will be popular or will die, and then Microsoft Edge and Brave and other Chromium browsers will be more popular and then what? Chromium will still be dictated by Google employees, and not many outsiders will change anything about it. SO what will this fix? nothing. it will not benefit Mozilla, and even if Chrome is acquired and mismanaged by another company and dies, it will be a Chromium browser that will gain its marketshare, not an alternative browser with some obscure engine that probably will not do what Chromium does today anyway.
The “Anonymous” provenance speaks volumes.
Similar as during COVID times: “Spread a plethora of plausible arguments and the sheep will follow”. My take on this view: it’s a google sharpshooter on the spreader of the Royal Mast.
> But breaking a company because it is successful, that’s some type of Cuba crap
A towel of text that makes no sense, no one will even fully read.
The answer in a nutshell (something you don’t understand because you’re speculating about things you don’t understand):
They’re going to get action taken against them not because they’re “successful”, but because Google is taking advantage of their near-monopoly status to compete unfairly.
It’s a simple rule: if you’re a monopolist (or close to it) and you use it to suppress your competitors, get ready for the antitrust laws to take an interest in you sooner or later. Why? Because such methods ultimately harm competition, the free market and end users.
And that’s exactly what Google is doing. And that’s exactly why (not because they’re successful) they’re getting in trouble now.
Good for Google!
If Microsoft couldn’t be broken up, neither should Google.
Microsoft, for all it’s money, TOOK from Google to make Edge.
They can’t even make their own web browser from scratch, how pathetic!