Google proposes altering contracts to correct illegal search monopoly

After the government pushed for the breakup of Google, accusing it of business practices that violate antitrust laws, the Mountain View, Calif., tech giant proposed its own solutions on Friday — to restructure its business contracts instead.“Regulating a fast-changing industry like search with an invasive decree like the one proposed by Plaintiffs would harm competition, innovation, and consumers,” Google said in a court filingFriday.The request comes after a federal judge in August found that the tech company had illegally maintained a monopoly in search.Google said it disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal.

Business A federal judge is considering ways to restore competition in the online search market.Google says a breakup would hurt consumers.

Amit P.Mehta, a judge in the U.S.

District Court for the District of Columbia, is now trying to decide on ways to restore competition.Last month, the U.S.

Department of Justice and several states proposed solutions to fix what it described as Google’s illegal search monopoly that included forcing the company to sell Chrome.Google’s proposed fixes are more narrow than what the DOJ suggested.What the judge decides could reshape the future of the internet and affect Google’s ad business.

In a court filing, Google proposed putting limits around its contracts with mobile device manufacturers and wireless carriers.For example, Google proposed that it wouldn’t enter an agreement with Apple in which it’s the default search engine unless its partners were allowed to set a different default search annually in the United States and promote other search services.“We don’t propose these changes lightly.

They would come at a cost to our partners by regulating how they must go about picking the best search engine for their customers,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs in a blog post.The nearly 300-page landmark ruling by Mehta partly focuses on how Googl...