The US government is threatening to destroy Google's monopoly

The US government has threatened to break up Google to end its illegal monopoly on internet search.

In a move that sets up a major showdown between Silicon Valley and Washington, US lawmakers said the tech giant could be forced into a massive shake-up.

Google owner Alphabet could be ordered to sell parts of its business, such as its Chrome web browser and Android operating system.

In a court filing released this week, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would make every effort to prevent Google from dominating the emerging artificial intelligence sector.

But the tech giant, which plans to appeal, said the proposals are “radical” and could stifle American innovation. The ruling came after a judge in August found that Google had created an illegal monopoly in a landmark legal case.

The Silicon Valley company has become the most popular search engine for Internet users, accounting for about 90 percent of online searches.

The U.S. government has accused Alphabet of using the company's other products to trick people into using its search engine, where it makes money by selling ads.

Google may be forced to stop paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple to install or set its search engine as the default on devices.

To prevent Google's dominance from spreading into artificial intelligence, the United States could force Google to share its indexes, data and models with rivals.

“This would be a huge change in the way people and businesses use and interact with the Internet in their lives, so it's clearly a high-stakes poker game,” said Ben Barringer, an equity research analyst. in Quilter.

“Not much is changing for now, which will dampen investor enthusiasm for Alphabet for this year and much of next year until more is known.

“It will be a long-term process and requires many negotiations. However, the Department of Justice fired a shot across Alphabet's bow.

Google said the proposals go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case.”

Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, said: “Government overreach in a rapidly growing industry could have unintended negative consequences for American innovation and American consumers. We look forward to presenting our arguments in court.”

The company, which is valued at over $2 trillion, said its search engine has won praise from users for its quality, adding that it faces stiff competition from rivals and there are other search engines available.

Alphabet, the world's fourth-largest company, is under increasing legal pressure from global competitors and regulators.

In a separate case, a US judge ruled that Google must open its Play app store to more competition, including the availability of Android apps from competing sources.

The company is fighting another case in the US aimed at breaking up its online advertising business. It also faces similar competition challenges in the EU.

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