Desi CEO of AI giant asked to testify in Google case in court shares why Google should not be broken up and what he finds "particularly frustrating" Android
CEO
Aravind Srinivas
has been asked to testify in the ongoing
Department of Justice
antitrust case against Google, where he will advocate for consumer choice on Android while opposing the breakup of
's
Chrome
browser business.
"Perplexity has been asked to testify in the Google DOJ case," Srinivas posted on X. "Our core points: Google should not be broken up. Chrome should remain within and continue to be run by Google."
The testimony comes as Google faces a critical three-week hearing beginning Monday to determine penalties for operating what a federal judge ruled last year was an illegal search monopoly. The US Department of Justice is pushing for radical changes including forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser and banning exclusive search deals with companies like Apple.
Perplexity CEO says don't breakup Google, but Android needs to open up to choices
Srinivas believes breaking up Chrome would be counterproductive, stating, "We don't believe anyone else can run a browser at that scale without a hit on quality, nor the business model to be able to serve that many users profitably by keeping the browser free."
Instead, Perplexity's testimony will focus on increasing consumer choice on Android devices. "Android should become more open to consumer choice," Srinivas argued. "Consumers should have the choice to pick who they want as a default search and default voice assistant, and OEMs should be able to offer consumers this choice."
In a blog post titled "Choice is the Remedy," Perplexity criticized Google's restrictive contracts with phone manufacturers, stating that "mobile companies are forced to give their customers a subpar experience that Google demands to preserve its monopoly."
Srinivas finds particularly frustrating "how hard it is to change anything on Android. OEMs can only use a Google-approved version of Android, if they want to have core Google apps like PlayStore, Maps, etc."
According to Perplexity's blog, the remedy should focus on "eliminating restrictive contracts that limit OEMs and carriers from giving consumers real choice" rather than
breaking up Google
.
The court proceedings, expected to last three weeks, will include testimony from Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Judge Amit Mehta plans to make his decision on remedies before Labor Day, with Google intending to appeal the original ruling after the hearings conclude.
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