Google, the tech behemoth, is facing an unprecedented onslaught of antitrust lawsuits that could drastically change its business model and operations. The US Department of Justice, European Union, and tech industry rivals are all taking aim at Google's search engine, advertising business, and Play Store, threatening to break up its empire piece by piece.

The US Department of Justice is currently wrapping up its trial against Google, arguing that the company maintains too much control over web advertising and uses that power to lock in customers, leaving little room for competition. If Google loses, it could be forced to make sweeping changes to its advertising business, including selling its web browser, Chrome. The DOJ has also proposed preventing Google from favoring its search engine or browser within its own products, such as Android, YouTube, and its AI chatbot Gemini.

But the DOJ's lawsuit is just the tip of the iceberg. The European Union is probing Google's compliance with regulations on Big Tech, while Yelp is targeting Google over local search results. Epic Games is also pressing Google to open up its Play Store, and the company recently lost an appeal that would have allowed it to get around paying a $2.7 billion antitrust fine stemming from claims that it gave its own shopping results an unfair advantage in Google Search.

The consequences of these lawsuits could be monumental. If Google is forced to break up its search engine or advertising business, it could have a significant impact on the company's revenue and operations. The DOJ's proposed remedies, including selling Chrome and preventing Google from favoring its own products, could fundamentally change how Google operates. Even if the lawsuits don't result in a breakup, Google will still have to change how it operates to ward off more ire and legal threats.

The timing of these lawsuits couldn't be more critical. With President-elect Trump set to take office, the outcome of these cases could be affected by his administration's stance on antitrust enforcement. While Trump has taken a more hands-off approach to regulation, his DOJ filed the antitrust lawsuit over Google's search engine in 2020. Trump has also long lambasted Google for supposedly surfacing negative search results about him, something he was particularly vocal about in the months leading up to the US presidential election.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of these lawsuits, one thing is clear: Google is facing the most high-stakes moment in its history. The company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, has already begun to allude to the search engine's perceived "bias" against Trump and right-wing politicians, and Google is likely to continue to face intense scrutiny in the coming months. Whether Google emerges from this legal firestorm unscathed or not, one thing is certain: the tech giant will have to adapt to a new reality, one in which its dominance is no longer taken for granted.

As Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said in 2019, Google's rival missed beating Android as the "dominant mobile operating system" because it was "distracted" by the government's antitrust trial in the early 2000s. Google would do well to heed this warning, as it navigates the treacherous landscape of antitrust lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny.