It’s never all sunshine and rainbows for the big players in the technology world. They always seem to be embroiled in some kind of legal battle, either with other companies or governments. That’s the case with Google right now.
Google is dealing with a lot of stress after losing a huge antitrust case a few months ago. Part of the remedies that the United States Department of Justice has proposed includes potentially forcing Google to break Android and Chrome away from itself, which the company has claimed could have pretty serious and wide-reaching effects.
One Of The Remedies Proposed Is To Split The Tech Giant
Well, after Google was found to be a monopolist, it was left to the DoJ to figure out how exactly to fix the situation, and unfortunately, one of those solutions is far from something that Google would find itself embracing. The US authorities have proposed that Google goes through “behavioral and structural remedies”, which is a fancy way of saying it is proposing breaking Android and Chrome away from Google.
At the moment, this and other remedies are merely considered proposals, and a separate court hearing will have to be held to determine whether these steps can be considered to be adequate. Google will also have its own opportunity to propose changes it can make to fix its wrongdoing.
Google Assures That Spinning Off Android Or Chrome Could Cause A Lot Of Problems
Needless to say, Google is certainly going to fight such a decision tooth and nail. After all, it claims that choosing to make that move could potentially have some serious consequences for consumers and developers alike.
Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, says that breaking Android and Chrome away from Google would result in them changing their business models, which would make Android smartphones more expensive and put them at a disadvantage against Apple and its App Store—which in turn, has an effect on developers and consumers alike.
Mulholland also mentioned how that would force Google to share its search data with third parties and that could result in privacy and security risks. Perhaps most importantly, it is claimed that doing such could “break” the Android operating system and cause a lot of disaster for anyone who is reliant on it. It could be fear-mongering, but if true, Google will certainly propose other alternatives.
Google Lost A Substantial Antitrust Case In August This Year
Back in August, Google lost a major antitrust case that claimed that it was using the Android and Chrome platforms which it owns, to unfairly push its Google search engine, putting competitors at a major disadvantage and creating a monopoly.
When you look at the details though, there seems to be some merit to the ruling in that case, as Google was found to pay smartphone companies like Samsung and Apple to get them to feature Google as the default search engine on their devices. They also made a deal with Mozilla to get it to push Google as well. Over $2021, the company was said to have paid over $26b for all of these deals.
