Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares plummeted over 5% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Justice proposed drastic measures to address Google's monopoly in the online search market.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the DOJ urged U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to force Google to divest its widely-used Chrome web browser as part of a series of remedies to restore competition in the search engine market.
The DOJ's proposal comes after Judge Mehta ruled in August that Google had illegally monopolized the online search and advertising markets through a series of exclusionary distribution agreements and other anti-competitive practices.
In addition to selling off Chrome, the DOJ is seeking to prohibit Google from:
- Entering into exclusive deals to make Google the default search engine on devices like Apple's iPhone and Android smartphones.
- Giving preferential treatment to its own search engine on Android devices.
- Owning or investing in any rival search engines, query-based AI products, or online advertising technology for five years.
The DOJ also asked the court to consider forcing Google to divest its Android mobile operating system if the other proposed remedies fail to restore competition in the search market.
Google has vowed to appeal any adverse ruling, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle that could shape the future of online search and advertising markets.
