Lindsey Reiser (00:00):
The Justice Department has formally submitted a proposal to break up Google, calling for the company to sell its Chrome web browser. The Wednesday night filing comes after a federal judge ruled in August that Google was a monopoly in an antitrust case. DOJ lawyers now want the judge to order Google to divest its signature search engine. The Justice Department is arguing that Chrome has given the tech giant too much power in the online search business. Research shows Google controls about 90% of the search engine market. CBS News MoneyWatch Correspondent Kelly O'Grady joins us now in studio for more on this. So, Kelly, break down how the Justice Department wants Google to divest Chrome and what this means for users.
Kelly O'Grady (00:42):
Yeah. So, basically, they want Google to sell off the Chrome browser. And the idea, I mean, you mentioned how much Google controls of the search engine market, Chrome really gives them a leg up on doing that, because, if you think about it, when you open Chrome, what loads right away? It's Google. And so they're able to get all of that data. Over 50% of the browser market is Chrome. So, they want them to get rid of Chrome.
(01:06)
And then there are a couple of other things because, remember, what does Google own? They own Android. And so that's the device that many users use aside from an iPhone. Chrome is loaded on Android immediately, and then also on an iPhone or some of the other phones, they have exclusive agreements to have Google be the search engine in Safari. So, the DOJ wants them to get rid of those agreements potentially at the most extreme cell Android in order to-
Lindsey Reiser (01:33):
Wow.
Kelly O'Grady (01:33):
… I know, enable competition. What this means for users, if this were to happen, I go on my iPhone, I'm just basically going to have to type in google.com and then I'd be able to search that. So, it's just one little step for the user, but it could be really impactful for Google.
Lindsey Reiser (01:48):
Of course, Google's not going to take this lying down. What are they saying?
Kelly O'Grady (01:51):
They're saying that this is the DOJ pushing a radical agenda. It's going to be bad for consumers. It's going to be bad for innovation. My takeaway here, Lindsey, is, of course, this is going to impact Google's current business. This is going to be really bad if this happens for their artificial intelligence goals, because that's the future, and all of this data is so important to them getting to that future and being a leader in the market. The other thing the DOJ wants to prevent Google from doing is buying any AI search related company. So, it really would put them on the back foot there.
Lindsey Reiser (02:22):
What is the Justice Department's track record when it comes to antitrust cases like this? Have they been successful in the past?
Kelly O'Grady (02:30):
Not really up until this point. There was a big case, Microsoft, back in the '90s, but we haven't seen something this significant. So, they really did get the win with that judge back in August. The Microsoft case, they also wanted to break up Microsoft in the '90s. When it came to implementing any of the penalties and actually breaking up the company, they ultimately settled with Microsoft. So, this would be the first time, if the judge rules in the DOJ's favor, of, "Yes, I agree with your recommendation." I mean, of course, Google will try and appeal all of this, but this would be very significant if they actually got Google to execute on selling Chrome.
Lindsey Reiser (03:06):
So, you mentioned appeals. I mean, how long could this saga last?
Kelly O'Grady (03:09):
Very long.
Lindsey Reiser (03:10):
Okay.
Kelly O'Grady (03:10):
So this is Google's, sorry, the DOJ's recommendation. Google will have a chance to respond to those recommendations. The judge will then make a ruling in August of 2025, and then Google will have the opportunity to appeal. So, we might see this happen in a couple of years at this point.
Lindsey Reiser (03:26):
Okay. So, no effects immediately?
Kelly O'Grady (03:27):
Mm-hmm.
Lindsey Reiser (03:27):
All right. Kelly O'Grady, thank you so much, as always.