The Department of Justice and Google are set to submit their final recommendations to a federal judge regarding remedies in response to a ruling that found Google had illegally maintained its search monopoly. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta previously determined that Google's agreements to pay other companies for the prominent placement of its search service were exclusionary and anticompetitive.
This week, the DOJ and Google met to discuss potential remedies, with the DOJ's proposals reportedly including measures as drastic as breaking up several of Google's services, extending beyond Judge Mehta's initial ruling.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which has supported competition in the tech industry for over 50 years, has aligned with the DOJ in past cases involving IBM, AT&T, and Microsoft.
CCIA President Matt Schruers commented on the situation: “It is concerning that Google could be penalized for engaging in the same business practices used by brands to prominently display their products on the end of a grocery aisle. At a time when U.S. digital services are in a fierce global competition for technology leadership, structural remedies that weaken US companies are not wise and risk handing an economic advantage to adversaries abroad.”
