US Weighs Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case

The US Justice Department is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell off parts of its business in what would be a historic breakup of one of the world’s biggest tech companies.

Antitrust enforcers are weighing a breakup to mitigate the Alphabet Inc. business’s dominance in search, the agency said in a court filing on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Judge Amit Mehta could also order Google to provide access to the underlying data it uses to build its search results and artificial intelligence products, it said.

The Justice Department “is considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features,” the agency said.

The 32-page document lays out a framework of potential options for the judge to consider as the case moves to the remedy phase. The agency said it will provide a fuller proposal on remedies next month and then begin gathering additional documents and evidence from Google for a two-week remedies hearing in April. Mehta said he will rule on the remedies by August 2025.

The effort is the most significant move to rein in a major tech company over illegal monopolization since Washington unsuccessfully sought to break up Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. The Justice Department and the US Federal Trade Commission have targeted Big Tech dominance, scrutinizing deals and investments and accusing some of the country’s most powerful companies of illegally dominating markets.

Google shares fell as much as 2.8% Wednesday and were down 1.6% to $162.98 at 10:22 am in New York trading.