The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL) to divest its Chrome browser after an antitrust ruling found the company has an illegal monopoly in online search.
Chrome, which Alphabet launched in 2008, provides the search giant with data it then uses for targeted advertisements.
The Justice Department said in a filing that forcing the company to sell its Chrome browser would create a more equal playing field for competing search engines.
Additionally, the Justice Department said that Alphabet should be prevented from entering into exclusionary agreements with third parties such as Apple (AAPL) and be prevented from giving its search service preference within its other products such as its Pixel smartphones.
The filing said the proposed remedies should run for the next 10 years and that Alphabet be required to provide a technical committee with a monthly report outlining any changes to its search advertising auction.
Search advertising accounts for nearly $50 billion U.S. a year in revenue at Alphabet, representing three-quarters (75%) of total advertising sales at the company.
The Justice Department’s proposals represent the most aggressive attempt to break up a U.S. technology company since the American government’s antitrust case against Microsoft (MSFT)
in 2001.
This past August, a federal judge ruled that Alphabet holds an illegal monopoly in the online search market.
The ruling came after the U.S. government in 2020 filed its case, alleging that Alphabet controlled the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominant position.
Alphabet has said that it intends to appeal the monopoly ruling, which would drag out any final remedy in the case.
The stock of Alphabet has risen 27% this year to trade at $175.98 U.S. per share.
