US agencies urge courts to be ruthless in imposing remedies over Google’s monopolies

At the end of last year a jury found Google holds an illegal app-store monopoly through Google Play. That same court was then charged with determining what measures should be taken in the light of that verdict and it seems those deliberations are still ongoing. Perhaps in a bid to resolve any possible stalemate, the FTC filed an amicus brief (legalese for friendly advice) designed to help the court focus its mind.

"In its amicus brief, the FTC encourages the court to use its broad power to order a remedy that stops the illegal conduct, prevents its recurrence, and restores competition,” said the accompanying press release. “Injunctive relief should also restore lost competition in a forward-looking way and should ensure a monopolist is not continuing to reap the advantages and benefits obtained through the antitrust violation.”

It goes on to stress that no amount of moaning from Google should inhibit the court in making the right decision. “Complaints about the burdens of compliance are no excuse,” says the release. “Google’s monopolistic behavior has significantly harmed millions of users in the United States. Allowing monopolists to reap the rewards of illegal monopolization while avoiding the costs of restoring the competition that they unlawfully eliminated would undermine deterrence.”

No specific remedies are recommended but, in reference to a more recent ruling that Google also has a search monopoly, Bloomberg (paywalled) has apparently heard from some people at the US Department of Justice, who are urging the judge in charge of remedies to consider forcing Google to sell off bits of its business, including the dominant Android smartphone platform.

It seem clear that the regulatory vultures are circling Google right now but history shows that even if sweeping remedies are called for, successfully imposing them is far from straightforward. Decades ago Microsoft managed to ride out intense antitrust action without having to sell off significant chunks of the business and these latest bits of news will have Google’s army of lawyers working flat out on its defence.