DOJ Proposes Plan To Break Up Google Monopoly: Key SEO Experts React

What Could Happen to Google?

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The US government has outlined potential actions to destabilize Google’s monopoly over the search landscape. In the 32-page document, the DOJ opens by saying:

“Google’s anticompetitive conduct resulted in interlocking and pernicious harms that present unprecedented complexities in a highly evolving set of markets. These markets are indispensable to the lives of all Americans, whether as individuals or as business owners, and the importance of effectively unfettering these markets and restoring competition cannot be overstated.”

Alongside seeking a Google breakup, several other ideas are considered, including:

• Making Google search data available to competitors – this could pose a security and privacy risk to users of Google
• Limiting Google’s exclusive deals with partners (such as Apple) that present Google as the default search engine – this could give consumers more choice
• Examining Google’s role in shaping and displaying AI features in search – Google argues this “risks holding back American innovation at a critical moment”
• Google should separate ads from search results and share its ad ranking data

The latest proposal is not the final ruling, but it has certainly caused unrest across the landscape.

Google has responded to the recent update in a blog post:

“We believe that today’s blueprint goes well beyond the legal scope of the Court’s decision about Search distribution contracts. Government overreach in a fast-moving industry may have negative unintended consequences for American innovation and America’s consumers. We look forward to making our arguments in court.”

The SEO Community Reacts

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Google has kept the SEO world buzzing for months with news, from the antitrust case to the latest algorithm update. And, the DOJ’s proposed plans for the search engine have certainly got many of us reaching for the popcorn to see how it all unfolds.

Glenn Gabe posted on LinkedIn following the filing and Google’s response:

Nick LeRoy also shared his take in his weekly SEO newsletter, named #SEOForLunch:

“I think it’s very unlikely that the DOJ will execute this proposal as it stands. However, it should scare the daylights out of Google. How this plays out is anyone’s best guess at this point, but we know that change at Google is coming!”

As I’ve already mentioned, the case judge has yet to decide on a solution, but with expected appeals and the scale of the case, it’s likely to be a long process. Further updates are expected in November of this year and March 2025.