The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has abandoned a proposal that would have forced Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) to divest its investments in artificial intelligence firms, including OpenAI competitor Anthropic, according to court filings on Friday. However, the DOJ and 38 state attorneys general continue to seek a court order requiring Google to sell its Chrome browser and implement measures to address its dominance in online search.
The revised proposal follows concerns that restricting Google’s AI investments could create unintended consequences in the evolving AI sector. Instead, prosecutors are now asking that Google provide prior notice to the government before making future investments in generative AI. Google holds a multibillion-dollar minority stake in Anthropic, which has argued that a forced divestment would give an advantage to OpenAI and its partner Microsoft (MSFT.O).
Google criticized the DOJ’s proposed remedies, calling them “sweeping proposals [that] continue to go miles beyond the Court’s decision” and warning they could harm consumers, the economy, and national security. The company has also proposed loosening its agreements with Apple (AAPL.O) and other firms regarding default search engine settings as an alternative remedy.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a trial for April to determine the final course of action. The case is among several antitrust battles involving major tech firms, with Apple, Meta Platforms (META.O), and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) also facing monopoly-related allegations.
