This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) called on tech giant Google to divest its Chrome browser.
In a filing on Wednesday, the DOJ said that forcing the company to get rid of its browser would create an equal playing field for search competitors, according to NBC News:
“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” the 23-page filing reads.
Reportedly, the DOJ said that Google should also be prevented from entering into exclusionary agreements with third parties, such as Apple and Samsung.
“The proposed remedies are designed to end Google’s unlawful practices and open up the market for rivals and new entrants to emerge,” the filing stated.
This is the DOJ’s most aggressive approach to break up a tech company since Microsoft in 2001.
In August, Townhall covered how a federal judge ruled that tech giant Google violated federal antitrust laws by maintaining a monopoly as it pertains to online searches and advertising.
“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” the United States District Court Judge Amit Mehta said in the 286-page ruling.
“It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act,” Mehta added.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) brought forward the lawsuit in late 2020 and filed two separate lawsuits alleging that the agreements and other conduct violated federal antitrust law. The Justice Department repeatedly said that Google’s search engine conducted nearly 90 percent of all web searches. The tech company has denied this.