The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an amicus brief in support of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Revised Proposed Final Judgment (RPFJ) concerning Google's antitrust violations. This follows a federal judge's ruling in August 2024 that found Google in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act for maintaining monopolies in general search services and text advertising.

The RPFJ aims to remedy these violations by requiring Google to share specific portions of its search index, user data, and advertising data with certain competitors for a limited time, while ensuring appropriate security and privacy measures are in place. The FTC, as the primary enforcer of consumer privacy, is particularly interested in these safeguards, which align with the agency's own privacy and data security orders.

Katherine White, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated that the proposed privacy measures are consistent with those the FTC has mandated for other companies facing similar privacy issues. The FTC has a history of addressing privacy violations, having entered into three consent agreements with Google since 2011.

The DOJ's RPFJ also suggests appointing a Technical Committee of independent experts to oversee the data sharing process, ensuring that competitors receiving data from Google comply with privacy obligations. The FTC's brief emphasizes the importance of this oversight, especially given Google's past privacy violations, including a civil penalty for breaching its 2011 privacy order.

Furthermore, the FTC argues that the data sharing requirements could incentivize Google and other market players to enhance their privacy and data protection efforts, ultimately benefiting consumers. The Commission's vote to authorize the amicus brief was 1-0-2, with two commissioners recused due to prior involvement in related litigation.