In what could very well turn out to be the “trial of the century” as far as the global tech landscape is concerned, the United States Department of Justice, in its ongoing lawsuit against Google, has argued that Google ‘must divest Chrome’ in order to end the monopoly it has so far enjoyed. In a wide ranging court filing, the DOJ has also argued that while divesting Android would also have been the most favoured course, but considering the objections that might raise, it wants Android to be put under vigilance and oversight of the Court and the DOJ.
It will now be upto the District Court Judge Amit Mehta to rule down on what will be the most ideal course of action. Whichever way Mehta rules, the decision would be a landmark one globally, and one that would have exorbitantly wide-ranging implications on the global technology landscapes. Needless to say, this would embolden law enforcement authorities globally, to severely crack down on the freedom that technology companies have so far enjoyed in the past few decades or so.
In a detailed court filing, the DOJ has also proposed following ‘remedies’:
stop and prevent exclusionary agreements with third parties;
prevent Google from self-preferencing through its ownership and control of search-related products;
prevent Google from stifling or eliminating emerging competitive threats through acquisitions, minority investments, or partnerships;
disclose data critical to restoring competition;
increase transparency and control for advertisers;
end Google’s unlawful distribution; and
allow for the enforcement of the PFJ while preventing circumvention.
Additionally, the Department of Justice alleged that “Google’s unchecked monopolies have frozen the general search ecosystem for more than a decade”. It hence proposed remedies run for a period of 10 years, with some exceptions."
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