Google, define monopoly. Now that Google’s parent company Alphabet has lost theantitrust lawsuit filed against it by the US Department of Justice and legally named a monopolist, DOJ lawyers are proposing solutions to restore competition in the search engine market, according to The Verge. This includes forcing the tech giant to sell Chrome, Android, or Google Play.

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Why? The search giant is making it impossible for rivals to compete. The amount of spending it takes to become a default option on platforms — including Apple, which cost USD 22 bn according to the lawsuit — is allowing the company to keep control of search distribution. “Google’s monopoly-funded revenue share payments disincentivize its partners from diverting queries to Google’s rivals,” the lawyers wrote.

Marketing for the enemy. The filing also included a requirement for Google to provide awareness campaigns that would give users the ability to choose a search engine based on their needs.

Google’s response: The company released a blog post saying that the filing framework “goes well beyond the legal scope of the court’s decision about search distribution contracts.” It also expressed that preventing the use of Chrome or Android “would break [the products]” since other companies would not be eager to invest in keeping them free and accessible for users the way Google has.

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