The U.S. Department of Justice’s proposals to curb Google’s dominance in online search will proceed to trial as scheduled, without delays for revisions by Trump administration officials, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta announced on Tuesday.
The DOJ has recommended that Alphabet’s Google sell its Chrome browser and potentially the Android mobile operating system to reduce its control over distribution points for online search. In October, President-elect Donald Trump expressed doubts about the idea of breaking up Google.
During a hearing, Judge Mehta firmly stated that the trial, set for April, will not be postponed even if DOJ officials appointed by Trump aim to alter the proposals. “If there is going to be a re-evaluation of the remedies that are being requested, it needs to be done quickly,” Mehta emphasized.
The DOJ initially sued Google in 2020 during Trump’s first term. In August, Mehta ruled that Google illegally monopolized online search and related advertising markets.
Under President Joe Biden, the DOJ has advanced broad measures to weaken Google’s dominance. These include compelling the company to sell its widely used web browser, share data and search results with competitors, and refrain from acquiring or investing in search competitors, query-based AI products, or advertising technologies.
Google has criticized these proposals, calling them “staggering” and claiming they would undermine U.S. competitiveness.
The trial will also explore the impact of artificial intelligence on online search. Prosecutors plan to call witnesses from OpenAI (the creators of ChatGPT), AI startup Perplexity, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms.
