The US Justice Department told a federal judge it is considering recommending that Google be forced to sell off parts of its operations to alleviate the harm caused by its monopolisation of the online search market, in what would be a historic antitrust break-up.

In a court filing Tuesday, antitrust enforcers said Judge Amit Mehta could also force the Alphabet unit to provide access to the underlying data it uses to build its search results and artificial intelligence products.

The Justice Department “is considering behavioural and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features – including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence – over rivals or new entrants,” the agency said in the filing. – Bloomberg