Bloomberg reported that Google representatives met last week with officials from the Department of Justice to persuade them to adopt a more lenient approach in a significant antitrust case. In August, a federal judge determined that Google maintained an illegal monopoly on search services. The Biden administration had previously suggested that Google divest its Chrome browser, among other changes, as a possible remedy in the case. Now, both parties are preparing to submit their final proposals to the court by Friday. In a statement to Vanity Fair, Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said, “We routinely meet with regulators, including with the DOJ to discuss this case. As we’ve publicly said, we’re concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security.”

Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) met with President Donald Trump's government last week and urged them to back away from a push to break up the search engine company, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently pursuing two anti-monopoly cases against Google - one over search and another over advertising technology. "We routinely meet with regulators, including with the DOJ to discuss this case. As we've publicly said, we're concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security," a Google spokesperson said.

US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last August that Google is a “monopolist” with an illegal hold over online search, where it controls an approximately 90% share of the market. Mehta will preside over hearings on potential remedies next month, with a final decision expected later this summer. Google’s chief legal officer Kent Walker outlined the company’s concerns about the Biden DOJ’s proposals in a blog post last November, asserting that a forced selloff of Chrome or the company’s Android operating system would “endanger the security and privacy of millions of Americans.” “DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most,” Walker said at the time. Gail Slater, an antitrust hawk, is set to be DOJ’s antitrust chief once the confirmation process is complete.