In an effort to increase competition in online search, the US Department of Justice on Friday rejected a plan to compel Alphabet’s Google to divest its holdings in artificial intelligence firms, including OpenAI rival Anthropic.
According to court documents filed in Washington, the DOJ and a group of 38 state attorneys general continue to seek a court order compelling Google to sell its Chrome browser and take other actions to rectify what a judge deemed to be Google’s unlawful search monopoly.
Cheap items and ‘free’ internet services are not the only things that make up the American dream. “Freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of innovation, and freedom to compete in a market free from monopolist control are some of these values,” the prosecution argued.
According to a Google representative, the “sweeping proposals continue to go miles beyond the Court’s decision, and would harm America’s consumers, economy, and national security.”
A request for comment was not immediately answered by an Anthropic representative.
President Donald Trump has declared his intention to carry on the onslaught on Big Tech that started during his first term and persisted throughout the administration of former President Joe Biden. Gail Slater, an experienced antitrust lawyer, has been appointed by Trump to head the DOJ’s initiatives.
Google owns a billion-dollar minority stake in Anthropic. If the investment were lost, OpenAI and its partner Microsoft would gain a competitive edge. In February, Anthropic sent a letter to the court.
Prosecutors stated in their final proposal on Friday that there was a chance that preventing Google from investing in AI “could cause unintended consequences in the evolving AI space,” based on evidence they have gathered since making their draft recommendation in November. They demanded that Google be compelled to notify the government in advance of any upcoming generative AI initiatives.
Google has made its own proposal to loosen agreements with Apple and others to make Google the default search engine on new devices, and it has stated that it will appeal. A trial on the proposals has been set for April by US District Judge Amit Mehta.
Several US antitrust cases have been filed against Big Tech companies, including the blockbuster case. Amazon.com, Apple, and Meta Platforms are also accused of upholding unlawful monopolies in their own marketplaces.
Google has attempted to argue that the DOJ’s strategy in the lawsuit will hinder the company’s capacity to compete in AI and “jeopardise America’s global economic and technological leadership” ever since Trump was reelected.
With a few adjustments, many of the safeguards that prosecutors suggested in November are still in place.
For instance, a rule requiring Google to share search query data with rivals now stipulates that the rivals must not be a national security threat and that Google may charge a small fee for access.
Both Republican and Democratic solicitors general, together with the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA, issued comments endorsing the plan.
CREDIT: Gadget360, Allneeds
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