Trump's Department of Justice renewed its demands for Google to sell off Google Chrome and potentially Android to break its monopoly over search engines and devices, last Friday. This followed last year's ruling by a judge of the U.S. District Court regarding the proposal submitted by the Department of Justice under Biden's administration.
The Context:
Last year, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia gave a ruling that found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Judge Mehta asked the Justice Department and the states that brought the antitrust case to submit solutions to correct the search monopoly.
New Developments:
The department under Trump's administration made some changes to its proposed solutions amid this antitrust case. For example, the government is no longer seeking the mandatory divestiture of Google’s AI investments. According to the Department of Justice:
Market Share of Chrome, Android & Google Search
This table shows the market share of products that may be affected
| Product | Market Share |
|---|---|
| Chrome Browser | Approximately 66.3% of global browser market as of February 2025 |
| Android OS | Over 70% of global mobile operating system market |
| Google Search | Approximately 90.15% of global search engine market as of February 2025 |
Conclusion:
Google and the government are scheduled to present their arguments on proposed solutions before the court in April. Google could potentially suffer significant losses if the decision goes against it.
The tech industry is closely watching the developments in this case, which could set a precedent and severely impact the industry in the coming future.
