U.S. drops bid to make Google sell AI investments in antitrust case

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday dropped a proposal to force Alphabet's Google to sell its investments in artificial intelligence companies, including OpenAI competitor Anthropic, to boost competition in online search.

The DOJ and a coalition of 38 state attorneys general still seek a court order requiring Google to sell its Chrome browser and take other measures aimed at addressing what a judge said was Google's illegal search monopoly, according to court papers filed in Washington.

Spokespeople for Google and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Google holds a minority stake worth billions of dollars in Anthropic. Losing the investment would hand a competitive advantage to OpenAI and its partner Microsoft, Anthropic wrote to the court in February.

The DOJ first made a draft recommendation in November. Prosecutors then continued to seek evidence from Google competitors and AI companies. The evidence showed a risk that banning Google from AI investments "could cause unintended consequences in the evolving AI space," prosecutors said in the final proposal on Friday. They asked that Google be required to give prior notice to the government about future investments in generative AI.

Google, which has said it will appeal, has made its own proposal that would loosen agreements with Apple and others to set Google as the default search engine on new devices. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April.

The blockbuster case brought during President Donald Trump's first term kicked off a crackdown against Big Tech companies that extended into former President Joe Biden's administration. Apple, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com also face allegations of maintaining illegal monopolies in their respective markets.

Since Trump's reelection, Google has sought to make the case that the DOJ's approach in the case would hobble the company's ability to compete in AI and "jeopardize America's global economic and technological leadership."

Many of the measures prosecutors proposed in November remain intact with a few tweaks.

A requirement that Google share search query data with competitors now says that Google can charge for the cost of access and that the competitors must not pose a national security risk.