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Google's Chrome divorce still on the cards as Trump's DoJ plays hardball

(2025/03/10)


If Google had hoped a bit of cosying up to President Trump would soften the US government's breakup demands in the wake of its search antitrust conviction, then is was seemingly mistaken.

The Trump Department of Justice filed a revised proposed final [1]judgment [PDF] in Washington, D.C. District Court on Friday. This made most of the same demands [2]put forward by Biden's DoJ in November after the election but prior to Trump taking office.

Pivotal to the demands issued by the DoJ in both the initial and revised proposed final judgment is that Google, having been found [3]guilty of maintaining a monopoly in both general search services and text advertising, must be forced to sell off its Chrome browser. According to the DoJ, divestiture of Chrome would "provide an opportunity for a new rival to operate a significant gateway to search the internet, free of Google's monopoly control."

[4]

"Through its sheer size and unrestricted power, Google has robbed consumers and businesses of a fundamental promise owed to the public – their right to choose among competing services," the DoJ argued, signaling a likelihood that it will continue to go hard against tech companies it perceives as having too much influence.

[5]

[6]

"Monopolies are incompatible with free markets and freedom more generally," the department added in its filing.

Much of the revised judgment proposal is identical to the Biden DoJ's initial proposal, with a few notable exceptions. Instead of forcing Google to sell off its AI investments, the new proposal instead seeks mandatory prior notification of future AI acquisitions. The option for Google to immediately divest Android is gone as well, in favor of proposing a forced divestiture of the mobile OS if Google fails to honor the agreement.

[7]

Changes were also proposed to a portion of the agreement forcing Google to syndicate its search text ads to competitors, with marginal cost pricing removed in favor of added parity and transparency controls.

Aside from those modifications, along with some changes "to resolve ambiguities," most of the new proposal remains the same.

If Trump's DoJ has its way, Google will still be forced to share ads and search results data for a decade at no cost to competitors to remedy the fact that it "has accumulated a tremendous amount of data over many years at the expense of its rivals." It must allow advertisers to export ad data without limitations too, and is barred from offering "anything of value for any form of default, placement or preinstallation" of its search service on devices manufactured by Apple or other companies. Prohibitions against self-preferencing remain in place.

[8]Google and Linux Foundation form Chromium love club

[9]Google is a monopoly. The fix isn't obvious

[10]Top 10 billionaires make nearly $64B in post-Trump election stock surge

[11]How US Dept of Justice's cure for Google could inflict collateral damage

"DoJ's sweeping proposals continue to go miles beyond the Court's decision, and would harm America's consumers, economy, and national security," a Google spokesperson told The Register , while pointing us to a December [12]blog post outlining its own proposal for remedies.

Those remedies, [13]refiled [PDF] without changes last week following the DoJ's filing on Friday, haven't impressed the department, which called Google's request nothing but a preservation of the status quo.

[14]

Google's proposal contains "only modest changes to its distribution contracts with Apple, carriers, OEMs and third-party distributors," the DoJ said. "Google's proposal falls woefully short of restoring competition to markets that have been harmed by Google's unlawfully entrenched monopolies and is inconsistent with remedies caselaw." ®

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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/03/10/doj-revised-google-antitrust-judgement-proposal.pdf

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/21/usa_vs_google_full_filing/

[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/05/google_default_search_deals_violate/

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z89vDFPLBgOPLAjC-o7C3QAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z89vDFPLBgOPLAjC-o7C3QAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z89vDFPLBgOPLAjC-o7C3QAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z89vDFPLBgOPLAjC-o7C3QAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/10/google_linux_foundation_chromium/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/15/google_monopoly_fix/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/07/top_10_billionaires/

[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/25/doj_google_collateral_damage_opinion/

[12] https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/google-remedies-proposal-dec-2024/

[13] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/03/10/google-antitrust-remedy-proposal.pdf

[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z89vDFPLBgOPLAjC-o7C3QAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/



Alex 72

OK so now it's time to go after Meta, as even if the current admin approves of no moderation and social harm, with byte dance being forced out of the US market that will be a monopoly too, given the irrelevance of X and bluesky at that scale.

Only $1M?

Dave Coventry

There's the problem right there.

Re: Only $1M?

Like a badger

Indeed. If Google had rustled up $200m or so, AND praised Trump's genius effusively, AND changed their search algos to Pump the Trump during the election, then this wouldn't be happening.

Time for Google

Anonymous Coward

To move to India…. Maybe along with a bunch of other tech companies that only have a minimal US presence.

Re: Time for Google

Anonymous Coward

But that wouldn't stop the US government choosing what happens for the US market, and it would expose Google to the confusing and contradictory tax and regulatory system in India. As furreignrs are always treated worse by US regulators and courts, it'd be mad for any US tech company to relocate outside the US, even with the orange loon and his clown show government.

Re: Time for Google

blu3b3rry

Maybe they'd be better off moving to Russia given President Cheese Puff's love-in with Putin.

Re: Time for Google

Anonymous Coward

Not sure why you think an Indian company would care about "US regulators and courts". Google can just move all of the stuff the USA wants to stop to a fully owned Indian subsidiary and become a shell company in the US. They're pretty close to that already...

Like how Starbuck's and MacDonald's don't actually own any coffee shops and restaurants. The USA market isn't a big fraction of worldwide sales of any of these companies.

Re: Time for Google

Yankee Doodle Doofus

< "The USA market isn't a big fraction of worldwide sales of any of these companies."

Citation needed...

Re: Time for Google

Anonymous Coward

Google is your friend...

MacD worldwide sales: $130B, US sales: $10B

Google worldwide sales: $280B, US sales: $25B

Re: Time for Google

Yet Another Anonymous coward

That's nothing:

Apple Ireland sales = $1Bazzillion

Apple Eu + rest of Europe (+ Ireland somehow) = $0

Leopards eating faces

Andy 73

..that is all..

What's the issue?

IGotOut

Google will just lay of more if the people that matter, make their products even shitter and stuff everything with unwanted AI slip.

It's worked in the past, so I'm sure that it will keep working. It's what investors , sorry, people want.

Re: What's the issue?

Yet Another Anonymous coward

Microsoft make Edge only go to Bing and renders all Youtube videos in 320x240 8 bit

I'm confused...

DoctorNine

Which one is the bad one now? I would like to see less Googly infiltration into global mindshare, yes. But they are most certainly not the only monolith in the tech sphere which bears investigation and possible divestments. Further, if this is a generic issue, are we seeing any other monolith getting the same spanking, or are the feds only hot for California Chrome? Mightn't it be possible that there is a bit of the hanky-panky going on with who does, and who does not, get such tender discipline? Hmmm...?

* m2 stares at the monitor... it looks like a hamburger...
<Knghtbrd> m2 - that's a bad sign