Records from the US Justice Department show that it is maintaining a proposal from the previous administration to require Google to split up its business.

Last year, a federal judge determined that Google had illegally abused its monopoly position in the search industry.

According to The Washington Post and The New York Times , the US Justice Department insisted that Google would be forced to sell its Chrome browser – a move that would supposedly permanently end Google's control over one of the most important search access points, thereby paving the way for rival search engines to compete more fairly.

Previously, in a statement in 2024, the authority affirmed that selling Chrome would "ensure that this important gateway to the Internet is no longer under the control of Google", creating opportunities for other browser rivals to reach users.

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Google is one of the technology corporations that strongly supports US President Donald Trump. Photo: Engadget

The agency also left in place a proposal from the Biden administration that would prohibit Google from paying companies like Apple, Mozilla and other smartphone makers to make its search engine the default option on devices and browsers.

However, the Justice Department withdrew an earlier request to force Google to sell stakes in AI startups, after Anthropic – a company that received investment from Google – said it needed Google's funding to stay afloat.

Instead, the government is proposing that Google must notify federal and state officials in advance of any investments in artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, Google poured another $1 billion into Anthropic, according to the Financial Times .

Google is expected to file its own proposal for final remedies in the coming weeks. In a previous filing in December 2024, the company argued that the Justice Department’s remedies were “overbroad” and “overreaching,” going far beyond the scope of court rulings on search distribution agreements with partners.

Google advocates continuing to pay partners like Apple and Mozilla to keep Google Search as the default option, but at the same time allowing them to enter into agreements with other search engines on different platforms.

For example, Apple can use different default search engines for iPhones and iPads, while browser companies are allowed to change their default options every 12 months.

This Justice Department filing could signal how the Trump administration will approach antitrust cases involving big tech companies.

Despite the support of tech leaders like Google, the Trump administration is likely to remain tough on “Big Tech.”

In a related development, the US House of Representatives recently summoned Alphabet - Google's parent company - and CEO Sundar Pichai to provide information about the company's exchanges with the Biden administration related to COVID-19.

Google co-founder calls for 60-hour workweek for employees Google co-founder Sergey Brin believes that if employees work harder and show up to the office more often, artificial general intelligence (AGI) could be within reach.