Alphabet’s Google has gained some welcome news in its ongoing antitrust battle with the US, that demands major changes at the search engine giant.

Reuters reported that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) last Friday dropped a proposal to force Google to sell its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) companies such as Anthropic.

It comes after the DoJ had in 2020 filed an antitrust suit against Google for monopolising search and search advertising under the previous Trump administration, and the inquiry and trial continued under President Joe Biden.

Antitrust lawsuit

Another antitrust lawsuit had also filed in January 2022 against Google by a number of Attorneys Generals from US states alleging Google monopolised multiple digital advertising technology products in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.

The Google antitrust trial began on 12 September 2023 to November 2023 and concluded with closing statements in May 2024.

It saw Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella testify that “everybody talks about the open web, but there is really the Google web.”

“Google is winning because it’s better,” Google lawyer John Schmidtlein had said in closing statements earlier in 2024.

Illegal monopoly

But Google’s worst fears were confirmed in August 2024, when Judge Amit Mehta ruled that “the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”

Judge Mehta found that Google had violated antitrust law by spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and become the world’s default search engine.

Alphabet pays Apple, Samsung, Mozilla and others billions of dollars to make Google the default search engine on their devices.

Soon after that historic ruling, reports suggested the United States was considering a rare antitrust option that could entail the corporate breakup of Google.

Then in October 2024 the DoJ filed court papers saying it was considering enforcing “structural remedies” to prevent Google from using some its products. This included asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business in order to eliminate its online search monopoly.

The DoJ’s structural remedies were to stop Google from leveraging products such as its Chrome browser, Android operating system, AI products or app store to benefit its search business.

Then in November 2024 the DoJ demanded that Google must sell its Chrome browser; share data and search results with rivals; and take a range of other measures to end its monopoly on online search, including addressing its ownership of the Android operating system.

AI investments

But now Reuters has reported that last Friday the DoJ dropped a proposal to force Google to sell its investments in AI companies such as Anthropic.

But the DoJ and a coalition of 38 state attorneys general still seek a court order, for Google to sell its Chrome browser and take other measures, according to court papers filed in Washington.

“The American dream is about higher values than just cheap goods and ‘free’ online services. These values include freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to innovate, and freedom to compete in a market undistorted by the controlling hand of a monopolist,” the prosecutors reportedly wrote.

Google response

A spokesperson for Google told Reuters the “sweeping proposals continue to go miles beyond the Court’s decision, and would harm America’s consumers, economy and national security.”

Google has said it will appeal, and has made its own proposal (aka remedies) that would loosen agreements with Apple and others to set Google as the default search engine on new devices.

US District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April 2025.