US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishment

FILE - Audience members gather at Made By Google for new product announcements at Google on Aug. 13, 2024, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)

U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.

The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department calls for Google to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphone software from favoring its search engine.

The recommended penalties underscore how severely regulators operating under President Joe Biden believe Google should be punished following an August ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta that branded Google as a monopolist. The Justice Department decision-makers who will inherit the case after President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year might not be as strident. The Washington, D.C. court hearings on Google’s punishment are scheduled to begin in April and Mehta is aiming to issue his final decision before Labor Day.

If Mehta embraces the Justice Department’s recommendations, Google will almost certainly appeal the punishments, prolonging a legal tussle that has dragged on for more than four years.

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