Google seems to be in some kerfuffle with its home market’s authorities after reports have come out of the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) considering breaking up Google from some of its biggest products including Android and Chrome.
This move follows a court ruling that found the company culpable of monopolizing the online search market, raising concerns about its impact on the industry’s competition.
It’s quite clear that Google has been the most dominant player in the tech industry and is now looking to even lead in artificial intelligence. This dominance relies mostly on three assets; Android, Chrome and AdWords. These products have been integral to Google’s power for almost two decades now if not longer.
However, Google is at risk of losing all three if the DoJ decides to take the strongest action against the firm.
The potential split is an occurrence that has been seen before as the U.S. government attempted to dismantle Microsoft in the late 1990s. Luckily for Google, this could prove to be much more complex due to how deeply integrated these services are into its ecosystem.
Other less drastic consequences could be forcing Google to share data with competitors (especially in AI), limiting Google’s exclusive contracts with device manufacturers or slowing Google’s growth in AI to prevent an unfair advantage against its competitors.
From various analysts, it is quite clear that it’s not just Google who would lose but also a number of its rivals like Apple and Mozilla who would lose from a potential split as they have deals worth tens of billions of dollars in revenue with Google.
It still remains to be seen what the decision will be from the U.S. DoJ as it stands.
