The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its proposal to require Alphabet’s Google to sell off its investments in artificial intelligence companies, including its stake in Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI, in a bid to enhance competition in online search.
However, the DOJ, along with a coalition of 38 state attorneys general, continues to pursue a court order demanding that Google divest its Chrome browser and implement other measures to address what a judge has previously deemed an illegal search monopoly.
In court papers filed in Washington, prosecutors emphasized that the U.S. is committed to preserving values like free speech, innovation, and competition, arguing that Google’s dominance distorts the market.
A Google spokesperson responded, stating that the proposed measures go far beyond what the court decided and would ultimately harm consumers, the economy, and national security.