The Department of Justice made news earlier this week when it asked a federal court to partially break up Google by forcing it to sell its popular Chrome internet browser and divest its Android mobile operating system.
The request came in the landmark U.S. v. Google antitrust case relating to Google’s dominance in the internet search market. Following trial in 2023, District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by unlawfully monopolizing the market for internet search services.
Earlier this week, Yahoo interviewed SCL Founding Partner Jeff Shinder regarding the DOJ’s request to break up key parts of Google’s business. Yahoo published Jeff’s comments in the article, “The DOJ wants to break up Google. It needs to convince a judge first.”
Jeff explained that while the remedies requested by the DOJ were grounded in its successful liability case, there’s a long road ahead before any structural changes might be imposed on Google.
Jeffrey Shinder, an antitrust lawyer and co-founder of Shinder Cantor Lerner, said there’s still a long way to go before Google’s consequences are known.
“With Chrome’s 61% share of web browser traffic, the DOJ request for this form of structural relief has sound mooring in the underlying theory of competitive harm,” Shinder told Yahoo Finance.
“That said, this is going to face significant hurdles including vigorous opposition from Google, the need to find a suitable buyer without antitrust baggage of its own, and the incoming administration’s antitrust team might have something to say about these issues.”
