DOJ softens Google AI investment restrictions while keeping Chrome sale proposal

The Justice Department‘s revised antitrust proposal for Google strikes a balance between regulating the tech giant’s influence in the AI sector while avoiding potential disruption to innovation. By allowing Google to maintain its current investments in AI startups like Anthropic while requiring future notification of new AI investments, regulators are taking a measured approach to competition concerns in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.

The big picture: The DOJ’s updated proposal allows Google to keep existing AI investments but requires antitrust notification for future AI company stakes, reflecting a more cautious approach to regulating the evolving AI sector.

Key details: Most of the Justice Department’s original antitrust remedy proposals against Google remain unchanged from their November filing.

• The proposal still includes a forced sale of Chrome, Google’s popular web browser.
• Regulators specifically mentioned Anthropic, the Claude AI chatbot maker in which Google has invested significantly, as an example of investments that can continue.

Why this matters: The Justice Department’s revised position signals recognition that severe restrictions on Google’s AI investments could potentially hamper innovation and development in artificial intelligence.

• The filing explicitly acknowledges that barring Google from AI investments could “cause unintended consequences in the evolving AI space.”

Reading between the lines: This adjustment suggests antitrust regulators are balancing competition concerns against the need for continued advancement and investment in emerging technologies.

• By requiring notification rather than outright prohibition, the DOJ maintains oversight while providing Google some flexibility to participate in AI development.