Google has announced plans to appeal a ruling that found it guilty of anti-competitive practices in the online search market, as the tech giant faces mounting pressure from US regulators to restructure its business.
The company said Saturday it 'strongly believes the Court's original decision was wrong' and will challenge the ruling on appeal.
However, this follows a hearing on Friday in which the US Department of Justice proposed sweeping remedies that could force Google to divest from its Chrome browser and end exclusive agreements with smartphone manufacturers that pre-install Google Search by default.
The government also wants the company to share the data it uses to generate search results on Chrome, a move Google criticised as giving Washington the power to determine who receives access to user data.
The Justice Department's proposals are part of a broader effort to curb what it sees as Google's abuse of its dominant position in the search market, which it argues has stifled competition and harmed consumers.
But Google has pushed back, saying the remedies would benefit wealthy competitors like Microsoft's Bing rather than improve users outcome. Instead, the company has suggested more limited actions, such as letting phone makers pre-install its Play Store without requiring Chrome or Google Search.
The judge's final decision on penalties is expected by August, marking the end of one of the most significant antitrust cases against a major tech firm in over a decade.
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