The U.S. Department of Justice is considering a possible breakup of Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL) following a recent antitrust ruling against the technology giant.
In a regulatory filing, the Justice Department said that it is also “considering behavioral and structural remedies” to prevent Alphabet from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to benefit Google search and its related products.
The proposals come after a U.S. judge in August of this year ruled that Google effectively has a monopoly in online search.
The U.S. government accused Alphabet of maintaining a dominant position in online search by creating strong barriers to entry for competitors.
The judge in the case concluded that Alphabet violated the “Sherman Act” that outlaws monopolies in the United States. Alphabet has said that it plans to appeal the ruling.
Alphabet has a 90% share of the online search market. The company gets more than half of its annual revenue from online search, mostly from advertising through the Google portal.
The Justice Department also recommended that Alphabet make available to competitors its data from Google searches, along with its advertising ranking information.
A final decision in the Alphabet antitrust case is expected in August 2025. However, legal appeals by Alphabet could drag out any final impacts for years, say legal experts.
Many experts say the most likely outcome is that Alphabet will be asked to eliminate exclusive agreements that it has with Apple (AAPL) and some other technology companies.
In a separate antitrust case, a U.S. judge earlier this week ruled that Alphabet must offer alternatives to its Google Play app store on Android smartphones. Alphabet is appealing that decision as well.
The stock of Alphabet has risen 19% in the last 12 months to trade at $164.38 U.S. per share.
