The Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken a significant step in its antitrust case against Google, proposing a range of remedies to restore competition in the online search market. In a filing late Wednesday, the DOJ demanded that Google divest its Chrome web browser, citing it as a key access point for searching the web.

The proposal also leaves the door open to requiring Google to spin out its Android business, although the DOJ stopped short of making it a formal demand. The move is seen as a way to incentivize Google to comply with other remedies, which include prohibiting the company from offering incentives to make Google Search the default, and banning self-preferencing on owned-and-operated platforms.

Google has responded to the proposal, calling it "wildly overboard" and claiming it would harm Americans and the country's global technology leadership. The case will continue in April, with a two-week remedies trial scheduled in a DC federal court. The outcome could have significant implications for the tech industry, and may even impact the way Google operates its business.