Google is pushing back against the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) plan to restructure its search engine, with senior executives describing the government’s proposal as “wildly overbroad” and posing potential risks to consumers, businesses, and national security.
The DOJ’s proposed remedy framework includes steps such as divesting from Chrome and possibly Android, requiring Google to disclose consumer data and consumer search queries with other companies for 10 years, and broad options for “self-preferencing,” which would limit user access to innovative integrations.
Google, however, sees danger in the regulation-heavy remedies framework that the government submitted to the court. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, told Fox News Digital that the proposal would hurt American consumers, our economy, our tech leadership, and even national security.
“We’re very concerned about DOJ’s proposal,” Walker said. “We think it would endanger security and privacy for millions; chill investments in AI; and hurt innovative services, including Mozilla’s Firefox, that depend on Google for search placement.”
Google has submitted an alternative remedies proposal, which it says more accurately addresses the search distribution contracts that were at the heart of the antitrust case.
In a blog post, Walker argued that the proposed reforms would result in unprecedented government overreach and harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses. He also expressed concerns that the plan would jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.
Both Google and Justice Department lawyers will reconvene Monday for the remedies hearing in Washington, D.C., to hash out the details of the proposed remedies.
Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-dojs-plan-restructure-google-hurts-consumers-national-security-says-exec-wildly-overboard