Tech giant Google is challenging the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit, arguing that its remedies are outdated and harmful, amid fierce competition and innovation from services like China’s DeepSeek.
This comes after an August ruling against the tech giant, that it holds a monopoly in internet search. The DOJ is pushing for Google to divest its Chrome browser and share search data with competitors. Google argues that such a move would undermine U.S. innovation and national security in the escalating global AI race, particularly against China’s DeepSeek.
In a blogpost titled, “DOJ’s sweeping remedies would harm America’s economy and technological leadership,” Google warned that the DOJ’s proposals would hamstring AI development and subject Google’s products to government oversight, stifling America’s tech leadership. “We are in a fiercely competitive global race with China”, Google’s Vice President of regulatory affairs, Lee Anne Mulholland wrote, emphasizing Google’s role in advancing AI breakthroughs like the Transformers architecture, foundational chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexitu, and Anthropic.
Part of the blog post reads,
“We have long said that we disagree with the Court’s decision in the case and will appeal. But first, the Court must decide what remedies best address its liability decision. At trial, we will show how DOJ’s unprecédented proposals go miles beyond the Court’s decision and would hurt America’s consumers, economy, and technological leadership:
- DOJ’s proposal would make it harder for you to get to services you prefer. People use Google because they want to, not because they have to. DOJ’s proposal would force browsers and phones to default to search services like Microsoft’s Bing, making it harder for you to access Google.
- DOJ’s proposal to prevent us from competing for the right to distribute Search would raise prices and slow innovation. Device makers and web browsers (like Mozilla’s Firefox) rely on the revenue they receive from search distribution. Removing that revenue would raise the cost of mobile phones and handicap the web browsers that you use every day.
- DOJ’s proposal would force Google to share your most sensitive and private search queries with companies you may never have heard of, jeopardizing your privacy and security. Your private information would be exposed, without your permission, to companies that lack Google’s world-class security protections, where it could be exploited by bad actors.
- DOJ’s proposal would also hamstring how we develop Al, and have a government-appointed committee regulate the design and development of our products. That would hold back American innovation at a critical juncture. We’re in a fiercely competitive global race with China for the next generation of technology leadership, and Google is at the forefront of American companies making scientific and technological breakthroughs.
- DOJ’s proposal to split off Chrome and Android – which we built at great cost over many years and make available for free — would break those platforms, Kurt businesses built on them, and undermine security. Google keeps more people safe online than any other company in the world Breaking off Chrome and Android from our technical, security, and operational infrastructure would not just introduce cybersecurity and even national security risks, but also increase the cost of your devices.”
The DOJ’s demands come as Google faces multiple antitrust challenges, including a recent loss in a case over illegal monopolies in online advertising. The current three-week trial, ending May 9, will determine the consequences of the August search monopoly verdict, with Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling expected in August.
Google plans to appeal, arguing that the DOJ’s measures exceed the court’s decision and threaten consumers, the economy, and U.S. tech dominance. Google defends Chrome as a critical tool for web access, noting its open-source code benefits competitors. Sharing search data, it claims, poses cybersecurity and national security risks while raising device costs.
The DOJ, backed by state attorneys general, insists that Google’s practices continue to shield its monopoly, even as search intersects with Al technologies like ChatGPT. Notably, witnesses from ChatGPT and Perplexity will testify, underscoring the overlap between search and Al.
As the trial unfolds, Google must balance portraying itself as vital to U.S. innovation without appearing so dominant that it stifles competition. The outcome could reshape the internet, potentially dethroning Google as the default gateway to online information, in a case, the DOJ likens to the historic breakups of AT&T and Microsoft.
