The DOJ says it is considering breaking up Google following the monopoly ruling

The Justice Department late Tuesday made recommendations about Google's search engine practices and indicated it was considering a possible breakup of the tech giant as a remedy for antitrust law.

The remedies needed to “prevent and limit the maintenance of a monopoly could include contract requirements and prohibitions, non-discrimination product requirements, data and interoperability requirements, and structural requirements,” according to a department filing.

The DOJ also said it is considering “behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to take advantage of Google Search and Google Search-related products and features – including new search access points and functions such as …”Artificial intelligence – compared to competitors or new entrants.”

Additionally, the DOJ proposed limiting or prohibiting standard agreements and “other revenue sharing agreements related to search and search-related products.” These include Google's search position deals with Apple's iPhone and Samsung devices – deals that cost the company billions of dollars a year in payouts. The agency suggested one way to achieve this would be to require a “selection screen” that could allow users to select from other search engines.

Such remedies would “end Google’s control over today’s distribution” and ensure that “Google cannot control tomorrow’s distribution.”

The recommendations come after a US judge ruled in August Google has a monopoly on the search engine market. This ruling came after the government filed the landmark lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Google maintained its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that maintained its dominance. The court found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits monopolies.

Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, said the company plans to appeal the ruling and stressed that the court valued the high quality of Google's search products, which the judge also noted in his ruling.

The DOJ also recommended that Google make its data in its search index and search models, including its AI-powered search capabilities and its ad ranking data, available to competitors. The DOJ is also considering remedies that would “prohibit Google from using or retraining data that cannot be effectively shared with others due to privacy concerns,” the filing said.

The recommendations are far from being decided.

Judge Amit Mehta said he wanted to rule on the remedies by August 2025 and an appeal by Google would likely delay the final impact for years.

Reacting to the filing on Tuesday, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, called the DOJ's recommendations “radical.”

“This case involves a series of search distribution contracts,” Mulholland said in a blog post. “Instead of focusing on this, the administration appears to be pursuing a far-reaching agenda that will impact numerous industries and products, with significant unintended consequences for consumers, businesses and American competitiveness.”

She added that “spinning off Chrome or Android would destroy them – and many other things.”

The most likely outcome, according to some legal experts, is that the court will order Google to void certain exclusive agreements, such as those with Apple. The court could suggest that Google make it easier for its users to try other search engines, experts told CNBC. However, a breakup seems less likely, the experts said.

In the second quarter, Google Search & Other generated $48.5 billion in revenue, or 57% of Alphabet's total revenue. The company holds 90% of the search market share.

In a separate antitrust case this week, a U.S. judge issued a preliminary injunction that will force Google to offer alternatives to its Google Play Store for downloading apps to Android phones.

In September, a judge closed a hearing on another antitrust case brought by the DOJ – but this time it involved Google's ad tech business.