American multinational technology company Google on Friday pressed a US federal judge to reject demands for it to divest its Chrome web browser, arguing against a remedy proposed by the US government aimed at curbing its dominance in the online search market.
The plea came during final arguments before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who is weighing potential “remedies” after ruling last year that Google unlawfully maintained a search monopoly.
US government attorneys are pushing for Google to shed its Chrome browser, asserting that the rise of artificial intelligence is poised to further solidify the tech giant’s control over internet access.
They also seek to prohibit Google from making lucrative agreements with partners like Apple and Samsung that make its search tools default options, a core focus of the initial antitrust lawsuit.
Google’s attorney, John Schmidtlein, countered these claims, telling Judge Mehta that no evidence presented during the trial suggested users would have chosen a different search engine if exclusivity deals were absent.
Schmidtlein cited Verizon as an example, noting the telecom company installed Chrome on its smartphones despite owning the Yahoo! search engine and having no contractual obligation to Google.
“Of the 100 or so witnesses heard at trial, not one said, ‘If I had more flexibility, I would have installed Bing’ internet search browser from Microsoft,” Schmidtlein argued.
Department of Justice attorney David Dahlquist disputed Google’s defence, alleging that Apple, despite receiving billions to make Chrome the default browser on iPhones, “repeatedly asked for more flexibility” but was denied by Google.
Google, for its part, contends that the US government’s proposed remedies, including the Chrome divestiture and the potential forced sale of its Android mobile operating system, extend far beyond the original scope of the five-year-old antitrust suit.
The potential weakening or spinning off of Chrome emerges as rivals like Microsoft (with Bing), ChatGPT, and Perplexity increasingly leverage generative AI to provide direct answers to user queries, fundamentally changing the online information landscape.
Google, which filed the antitrust suit some five years before ChatGPT’s debut, is now heavily investing in AI and integrating the technology into its search and other online offerings.
The arguments conclude a pivotal phase in the high-stakes legal battle, leaving the decision on Google’s future market structure in the hands of Judge Mehta.
