Google's parent company Alphabet may have to split its operations into separate companies, according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg. The U.S. Department of Justice is planning to separate Android and Chrome from Google, and there is talk of an independent AdWords organization.
These are the most severe proposals under discussion, but there are less severe measures to prevent Google from gaining a monopoly position. Examples include forcing the company to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent Google from abusing its position.
Negotiations at the U.S. Department of Justice have intensified following a ruling earlier this month in which Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on the search engine market. Google paid more than $2.5 billion to companies including Apple and Samsung to implement online searches and search text ads.
The judge's ruling was historic, as it marked the first time in the past 40 years that an American company had been found guilty in a US court.
The last time something like this happened was in the early 1980s, when AT&T gained an illegal advantage over competitors in the landline business. In 1984, the company was ordered to split its services into several companies.
Twenty years ago, US authorities tried something similar with Microsoft, but failed. Time will tell whether Google can divest Chrome, Android and AdWords, the most lucrative parts of the company.