US Considers Breaking Google In Historical Search Monopoly Case

JAKARTA - The United States (US) government on Tuesday announced that it was considering asking the court to force Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, to release several business units such as the Chrome browser and the Android operating system. This move is deemed necessary because these units are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online searches.

This case lists a new chapter in the history of business competition in the technology sector. In August, a judge in the US ruled that Google, which controls about 90% of the country's internet search market, has built a monopoly illegally. This monopoly is rated by the US Department of Justice as a barrier to Google competitors and could damage the digital ecosystem by continuing to control the distribution of online information.

This breakup proposal has the potential to change the way Americans find information on the internet. In addition, this step can also reduce Google's revenue and provide space for competitors to develop.

The Justice Department emphasizes the importance of stopping Google's dominance, not only in today's distribution, but also preventing them from controlling future distributions, including in fast-growing sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

In addition to discussing the breakdown of business units, the Justice Department also plans to submit a request to the court to stop large payments made by Google to other technology companies.

For example, in 2021, Google will pay USD 26.3 billion (IDR 411.7 trillion) to companies like Apple to ensure that their search engine becomes the default on smartphones and browsers.

Google Response

In response to the breakup proposal, Google stated that the proposal was "radical" and far beyond the relevant legal issues in this case. Google also claims that it still wins the hearts of users with the quality of its search engine, despite competition from companies like Amazon and other sites. They emphasize that users have the freedom to choose other search engines as defaults.

Google plans to appeal against this ruling. In the company's blog, they stated that this proposal from the government could pose a huge risk to the growing AI industry, with incorrect investment and incentive distortions, and could hinder emerging new business models.

As one of the largest companies in the world with a market capitalization of more than US$2 trillion (Rp32 quadrillion), Alphabet continues to face legal pressure from competitors and antitrust authorities, both in the US and in Europe.

In addition to this search monopoly case, Google is also facing another lawsuit from the Justice Department demanding the breakdown of its web advertising business. In Europe, despite pressure to speed up the process of resolving anti-competitive cases against Google, it is estimated that a breaking order will not be issued before the European Union's Head of Antitrust, Margrethe Vestager, leaves office next month.

Google competitors, such as Yelp and DuckDuckGo, have supported this breakup proposal. Yelp, which previously sued Google regarding local search results, proposed that Google's Chrome and AI services be separated from its parent company. They also requested that Google no longer be allowed to give preference to its local business pages in search results.

The Justice Department is expected to submit a detailed proposal regarding the proposed solution to the court no later than November 20. Google will have the opportunity to submit its own proposal until December 20.

The trial is seen as one of the major victories for US antitrust law enforcement, which in recent years has brought a large number of cases against major tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Apple over alleged illegal monopolies.

The impact of this decision will not only be felt in the US, but can also have a global influence on how regulators around the world regulate and control the dominance of big tech companies in the digital market.