WASHINGTON—Tonight, it was reported that President Biden’s Justice Department (DOJ) will ask a court to impose radical remedies in its antitrust crusade against Google—including a forced sale of the company’s valued service for consumers, its Chrome browser.
This follows a district court’s misguided ruling that Google violated antitrust law because it used standard business practices to help consumers access Google Search. The decision sends a chilling message that if consumers like products too much and if a company is too successful at providing them, that is punishable with draconian consequences. The remedies sought by the Biden administration will break services that Americans now enjoy, and discourage American investment in tech innovations that drive our economy forward.
“The DOJ’s proposed remedies aren’t just detached from the core of their case against Google—they’re detached from reality. Like so much of the Biden antitrust agenda, this is an exercise in throwing whatever against the wall and seeing what sticks, with reckless disregard for American consumers and national competitiveness,” said Patrick Hedger, NetChoice Director of Policy. “Biden’s DOJ wants Google to sell-off its Chrome browser, restrict AI and force data-sharing with rivals. Those so-called “remedies” are totally unrelated to the search engine default at the core of this case. It would subsidize Google’s less-innovative competitors, while punishing Google for the crime of having the best product—abandoning consumer welfare for crony welfare.”
Read more here about how the DOJ’s sought remedies against Google could leave Americans paying the price.
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