Google in the Crosshairs: US Department of Justice Plans Possible Breakup

The dominance of the tech giant Google in the field of online search is beyond question: With a market share of nearly 90 percent for search queries in the USA in 2020 and an impressive 95 percent share on mobile devices, Google faces no serious competitors. Microsoft's Bing, as the second-largest provider, holds only six percent market share. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice presented various measures to dismantle the company, which a judge deemed an illegal monopoly. This "high-level framework" ranges from more moderate approaches, such as limiting payments from Google to smartphone manufacturers in exchange for exclusivity, to the most drastic measure: the forced breakup of the company. A structural intervention could mean the separation of the Chrome browser or the Android operating system, among other things. However, it remains questionable whether this would actually shake Google's dominant market position. Even when European Android users are given the option to choose a search provider when setting up their new smartphones, nine out of ten still opt for Google. A hearing is scheduled for April, and Judge Amit Mehta, who already labeled Google a "monopolist" in August, has announced his intention to make a decision by August 2025.