The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly considering a forced breakup of Google, the world’s largest search service provider.

According to Bloomberg News on Aug. 13 (local time), the DOJ is considering breaking up Google after a court ruled that the company illegally monopolized the online search service market. This would be the first attempt to break up a big tech company since a failed attempt against Microsoft (MS) nearly 20 years ago.

If US government authorities order the break-up of Google, it would be the largest corporate breakup of a U.S. company since a breakup of telecommunications giant AT&T in 1984. If a breakup really happens, it will involve the separation of Google’s web browser Chrome and the Android operating system, experts forecast.

The DOJ is also reportedly studying a plan to force Google to sell off its advertising platform AdWords.

Other options include requiring Google to share data with competitors such as Microsoft’s Bing search engine or sell licenses to them and implementing fair trade measures for its AI products.

In addition, Google’s exclusive agreements which violate antitrust laws in the case are likely to be banned.

In the meantime, a federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled on Aug. 5 that Google’s payments to smartphone makers Apple and Samsung to set its search engine as a default in smartphone web browsers were against law.

Source: Businesskorea