Investing.com - Alphabet fell in afterhours trading Tuesday as the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly mulling plans to rein in Google's dominance in online search including a break up after a recent court ruling determined that the company monpolized the online search market, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
If the Justice Department moves ahead with a breakup plan, then it could demand Alphabet's Google sell its Android operating system and Google’s web browser Chrome, the sourced told Bloomberg.
The potential breakup plan comes after the DoJ recently scored a major legal victory against Google. Federal Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled on Aug. 5 that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in the online search and text advertising markets.
While a break up plan is one of the options it may pursue, the DoJ may also seek less severe options including forcing Google to share more data with competitors and enact measures to curb its unfair advantage in AI products, according to the sources.
A Google spokesman and a Justice Department spokeswoman declined Bloomberg's request for comment.
Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 1% in afterhours following the news.