Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will not help itself in any planned breakup or restructuring. And his comments come at a critical time as a major antitrust trial in a U.S. District Court draws to a close and a decision was expected in August.
Google in an illegal monopoly in searches and digital advertising and that such a monopoly harms consumers, according to United States Department of Justice. Now it is talking about being tough, including splitting apart the Chrome browser and ad technologies, banning exclusive search agreements (like with Apple),’and forcing Google to share search metrics with AI startups.
The company “would be forced to take extraordinary actions to make sure that the most important work continues and we continue to be there to serve and support our customers as this situation evolves,” Pichai said. Google said his research and development and global services would be hit. The forced restructuring could hurt U.S. competitiveness in tech space particularly as it rapidly advances in artificial intelligence, Pichai said.
To counter the litigation, Google has given a little, for example by agreeing to end some of its exclusivity agreements with device makers for Android handsets. In addition, the company has promised to increase compliance transparency such as by investing $500 million into its corporate governance structure. Alongside this, a new compliance committee has to be formed at the board level and senior personnel have to be appointed to monitor risk management.
The outcome has big implications while the court deliberates. Depending on how the judge rules, regulators may force Google to strip its major business units apart. Whatever happens, a ruling in its favor would tend to keep Google’s business and current corporate structure together. The ruling is seen as a key moment in the long going spat over how governments should regulate Big Tech.
Since Google is such an important part of the internet infrastructure and artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of the whole internet infrastructure, the stakes are really high for Google and the rest of the tech ecosystem. This legal battle could affect whether companies are permitted to innovate, do business and compete in the digital age.
