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DOJ Pushes Google to Divest Chrome and Ad Tech Amid Antitrust Crackdown

The Department of Justice formally proposes breaking up Google's core businesses, citing illegal monopolies in search and advertising markets.

FILE - A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Melley, File)
FILE - A sign is displayed on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
Alphabet Inc. and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the inauguration of a Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Paris on February 15, 2024.

Overview

  • The DOJ has officially proposed that Google divest its Chrome browser, AdX advertising exchange, and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad server to restore competition.
  • A federal judge previously ruled that Google illegally monopolized search and ad tech markets, prompting the DOJ to pursue structural remedies rather than behavioral fixes.
  • The proposed remedies include open-sourcing auction logic, real-time data sharing, and a decade-long ban on Google running an ad exchange post-divestiture.
  • Google has rejected the DOJ's proposals, arguing they exceed legal precedent, threaten privacy and security, and harm publishers and advertisers.
  • Major tech firms, including OpenAI, Perplexity, and Yahoo, have expressed interest in acquiring Chrome if divestiture moves forward.