On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department said that breaking up Google is the most effective way to deal with its monopoly in internet search, launching a three-week hearing that could significantly impact both the tech giant and the broader Silicon Valley landscape.

In August, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws to maintain its control over online search. He is now listening to both sides, Google and the government, on how the monopoly should be addressed, with a decision on the corrective measures, known as “remedies,” expected by the end of summer. During Monday’s opening arguments, government attorneys suggested that Google should be required to sell off its Chrome browser, which helps direct traffic to its search engine. They also said the company should help level the playing field for rivals if the court wants to revive competition in the stagnant online search market.

Google’s lawyers argued that Mehta should focus his remedies more specifically. They suggested that the court only examine Google's agreements with companies like Apple, Mozilla, and Samsung to make its search engine the default on web browsers and smartphones. These deals are central to the government’s case against the company. 

John Schmidtlein, Google’s lead trial lawyer, stated that Google’s proposal "directly responds to this court’s legal determinations, but it also does much more."

The case outcome, U.S. v. Google, could significantly impact the tech giant. Google is facing growing challenges, including the potential breakup of its ad tech business after a federal judge ruled last week that the company holds a monopoly on certain tools used by websites to sell ad space.

In 2023, Google also lost an antitrust lawsuit filed by Fortnite’s creator, accusing the company of breaching competition laws with its Play app store. These legal issues could harm Google as it competes with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta to lead the next wave of artificial intelligence. Google has been incorporating more AI into its search functions. However, the Justice Department has told the judge, Mehta, that he should ensure Google doesn’t use its search dominance to gain an unfair advantage in AI.