Google Faces Historic Breakup

A three-week trial began today that could force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, among other remedies for its illegal monopolization.

by David Dayen

April 21, 2025

Just a few days after being found liable of monopolizing digital advertising markets, Google will soon find out its penalty for monopolizing online search markets. On Monday, the remedy phase began of a trial that found that Google illegally muscled out competition in search by purchasing default space on devices and browsers.

“This is the time to tell Google and all other monopolists watching—and they are watching—that there are consequences when you break the antitrust laws,” said David Dahlquist, the attorney representing the Justice Department, in opening arguments.

This is the first major monopolization case in 25 years, successfully argued by Joe Biden’s Justice Department antitrust division. Now Donald Trump’s antitrust division must argue the remedy phase, where they are calling for a partial breakup of Google. The hearing before Judge Amit Mehta in D.C. district court is scheduled to last three weeks.

Dahlquist laid out DOJ’s proposed remedy in opening arguments. The biggest proposal is to split off the Chrome browser from Google’s parent company. User searches in Chrome are specifically tied to Google. Dahlquist said that Chrome is a “significant gateway to search,” a starting point for 35 percent of all user search queries. He also insisted that Chrome is a viable business that makes “far more money than it costs to run.” In fact, he argued, Google has underinvested in Chrome, which is a liability for users

https://prospect.org/power/2025-04-21-google-antitrust-breakup-chrome/