Google To Be Broken Up?
This past summer, federal judge Ahmit Mehta ruled that Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, had illegally monopolized the search engine market. Now, the judge and U.S. Department of Justice are weighing options for how Google can rectify that situation.
One of the key options being pushed by state attorney generals who originally filed suit against Google would require the company to sell off parts of its business, much as AT & T was forced to dismantle its operating structure in 1984.
Mehta isn’t expected to decide how the restructuring will be done until a second trial, set to begin in April 2025. Here, The Quartering examines the options and wonders aloud which divisions Google might relinquish.
Could YouTube be spun off? How about Google’s Chrome browser? The Android operating system? How about components of the Google Play Store? There are many options and variables, meaning this upcoming trial will likely be just as heated, and just as financially consequential, as the original trial and verdict.
