Google Breakup

Extracted Attributes

• Legal basis

  Antitrust lawsuits, findings of illegal monopoly in online search and digital advertising

• Parent company

  Alphabet Inc.

• Primary litigant

  U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

• Founders of Google

  Larry Page, Sergey Brin

• Potential outcomes

  Structural separation, divestment of parts of its ad tech stack, spin off Chrome, ensure interoperability

• Competitive context

  Intense competition from OpenAI's ChatGPT, struggles of Google's Gemini AI

• Key assets potentially affected

  Chrome, Android, AdX digital ad marketplace, DFP platform

• Criticisms leading to breakup discussions

  Privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust, abuse of monopoly position

Timeline

• Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1998-09-04

• Google went public via an initial public offering (IPO). (Source: Wikipedia)

  2004

• Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2015

• Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, replacing Larry Page. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2015-10-24

• Sundar Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2019-12-03

• The U.S. Department of Justice filed a landmark antitrust case against Google. (Source: Web Search)

  2020

• A federal judge found Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. (Source: Web Search)

  2024

• A federal judge in Virginia found Google illegally monopolized the digital advertising market. (Source: Web Search)

  2025-04

• The U.S. Department of Justice proposed that Google sell its AdX digital ad marketplace and DFP platform. (Source: Web Search)

  2025-05-06

• A trial date was set for remedies regarding Google's dominance in ad tools. (Source: Web Search)

  2025-09

Google

Google LLC ( , GOO-gəl) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., is one of the five Big Tech companies alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by American computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Together, they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of its stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet. After the success of its original service, Google Search (often known simply as "Google"), the company has rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation and mapping (Waze, Maps, and Earth), cloud computing (Cloud), web navigation (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android and ChromeOS), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), videotelephony (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch and Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), AI (Google Assistant and Gemini), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Many of these products and services are dominant in their respective industries, as is Google Search. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stadia), Glass, Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail. Google's other ventures outside of internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google DeepMind). Google Search and YouTube are the two most-visited websites worldwide, followed by Facebook and Twitter (now known as X). Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, online video platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, machine learning framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes as of January 2022 and fourth by Interbrand as of February 2022. The company has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust, and abuse of its monopoly position.

Web Search Results

• What if Google Just Broke Itself Up? A Tech Insider Makes the Case.

  There’s another possibility. Instead of resisting change, Google could accelerate it. It could spin off huge chunks of itself into independent entities. That would be a very Silicon Valley power move: Break yourself up before courts can break you up. In an era when Big Tech is under suspicion, a maneuver like this would probably be applauded across the political spectrum. For a company that used to have the motto “Don’t be evil,” such redemption might be irresistible. [...] David Streitfeld writes about technology and the people who make it and how it affects the world around them. He is based in San Francisco. A version of this article appears in print on June 5, 2025, Section B, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Case For Google Breaking Up On Its Own. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe See more on: Alphabet Inc., U.S. Justice Department, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Amit Mehta Share full article Advertisement

• U.S. seeks breakup of Google's ad-tech products after judge finds ...

  Published Time: 2025-05-06T04:59:22.289Z U.S. seeks breakup of Google's ad-tech products after judge finds illegal monopoly | Reuters =============== Skip to main content Report This Ad Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more about Refinitiv [...] - The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed that Google sell its AdX digital ad marketplace and DFP platform for managing and delivering ads on websites, after a federal judge found the company illegally dominated two online ad-tech markets. [...] U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia last month found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in those two markets. The ruling was another blow for Google after a separate judge found last year that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. Brinkema set a September trial date on Friday, after hearing from Google and the DOJ on potential remedies for the company's dominance in ad tools used by online publishers.

• Google broke the law. It's time to break up the company |

  The rulings against Google’s illegal monopoly in digital advertising offer a once-in-a-generation chance to redesign the infrastructure of surveillance that underpins Google’s ill-gotten dominance. But if regulators settle for symbolic fines or behavioral tweaks, it will do nothing to structurally reform the business model and incentives that underpin Google’s illegal dominance. In a three-week hearing that began this week, the US justice department is urging a judge to break up the company. [...] In August, a federal judge in Washington ruled that Google illegally maintained its search monopoly by locking up defaults on browsers and devices. In April, a federal judge in Virginia found that Google illegally monopolized the digital advertising market, manipulating auctions, restricting and stifling competitors. These two rulings, the most significant antitrust wins against a tech giant in decades, should be a turning point in the digital economy. [...] Meaningful remedies require structural separation supported by behavioral changes to prevent future anticompetitive behaviors, including in the market for artificial intelligence. First, Google should be required to divest parts of its ad tech stack, spin off Chrome and ensure interoperability. Vertical integration has allowed it to dominate every layer of digital advertising, from the tools publishers use to the auctions that determine ad placement. Breaking up that stack would create space

• Perplexity AI's $34.5 billion bid for Chrome underscores Google's ...

  The ruling was widely viewed as the most important antitrust decision in the tech industry since the case against Microsoft more than two decades ago. The U.S. Department of Justice, which filed the landmark case against Google in 2020, indicated after its victory in court that it was considering a possible breakup of Google as an antitrust remedy. [...] Analysts have taken the opportunity to place estimated values on Alphabet’s various businesses, partly in the event that the company is ever forced into drastic measures. Some have even suggested it could be a good thing for shareholders. “We believe the only way forward for Alphabet is a complete breakup that would allow investors to own the business they actually want,” analysts at D.A. Davidson have written in a series of notes this year. Alphabet didn’t respond to a request for comment.

• Google Stock Split History: What you Need to Know - IG

  The split was to ensure that the founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, retained overall voting control of the company, while also reducing Google’s then share price by half. This was achieved by creating the new class C stock, which does not carry any voting rights at shareholder meetings.