Google has asked the US Department of Justice (DOJ) if it can just not have exclusive deals with companies such as Apple for being the default search engine instead of having to sell its Chrome browser as part of the antitrust proceedings, The Verge reported.
However, Google also proposed this no exclusive deal restriction only for three years, while the DOJ wanted 10 years.
This comes after the DOJ demanded the company sell off Chrome, syndicate its search results, avoid exclusive deals for default search placement, and even kept open the possibility of forcing Google to sell Android.
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All of this was because the justice department found Google liable for unlawfully monopolising online searches. Google denied all of this.
The company justified its stance, stating search deals were at the heart of the case, so that is what the court should be targeting.
The proposal also states that Google won’t enter into deals with Android phone manufacturers to add mobile search in exchange for access to other Google apps.
This also means browsers like Mozilla and Opera would also have more flexibility when being set as defaults.
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However, the Apple deal is the biggest, running into the multi-billions in value.
If revoked, Google won’t be automatically made the default search engine on any “proprietary Apple feature or functionality, including Siri and Spotlight” in the US.
Google also proposed that it can not tell phone manufacturers to add its Gemini AI assistant to access other Google offerings.
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Google’s search engine rival DuckDuckGo hasn’t taken to this proposal well. “Google’s proposal attempts to maintain the status quo and change as little as possible,” the report quoted spokesperson Kamyl Bazbaz as having said in a statement.