In a new report 32 pages (PDF), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it was considering a possible breakup of Google as an antitrust remedy for the search and advertising monopoly.
The corrective measures that are necessary to "prevent and limit monopolistic maintenance could include contract requirements and prohibitions, non-discriminatory product requirements, data and interoperability requirements as well as structural requirements," the Ministry says.
The Justice Department also states that it is “considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Google Play, and Android to benefit Google Search and Google search-related products and features (such as the search and function pop-ups) against the company's rival or new entrants in the industry”.
In addition, the Justice Department proposed limiting or prohibiting default agreements and "other revenue sharing arrangements related to search products." That would include all of Google's search deals with Apple and Samsung's iPhone devices — deals that cost the company billions of dollars a year in payments.
The Ministry proposed a way to do this by requiring a "selection screen", which could allow users to choose between other search engines.
Such remedies would end "Google's control today" and ensure that "Google can't do the same tomorrow."
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