In August the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s antitrust division ruled that Google was an illegal monopoly. Alleging anticompetitive behavior, the DOJ was tasked with proposing remedies to the perceived monopolistic threat. The proposal that emerged is an array of restrictions and restructuring that ignores the reality of Google and the market more broadly.

The suggested remedy is death by a million cuts. It would force Google to sell its popular web browser Chrome, provide competitors with data, restrict its investment in artificial intelligence (AI), and impose a litany of other conditions. The result? Not a more competitive and open market, but rather a dismembered Google, unrecognizable from the search engine on which so many Americans and small businesses have come to rely.

Ideally, antitrust remedies are specific enough to remedy the anticompetitive behavior and bring about an equilibrium. The DOJ’s crusade against Google does no such thing. Instead, it seeks to cripple a successful American tech company and deprive users of many of the features that made the company successful to begin with, completely ignoring the consumer welfare standard.

The great irony in the government’s efforts to reduce Google by any means necessary is that the pace of innovation and market forces have beaten them to the punch. Last week, the Wall Street Journal published a searing analysis of Google’s model titled “Googling is for Old People. That’s a Problem for Google.” The author argued that, amidst the increased popularity of alternative search engines and AI that can answer queries, the DOJ might be the least of Google’s problems: “The government’s case against Google may be outpaced by competitive forces far more powerful than antitrust enforcement.” Case in point, Google’s share of the desktop search market has been on a continued decline for years.

The DOJ’s aggressive efforts to dismantle Google ignore market realities on multiple fronts. The proposed remedies would harm consumers by rearranging the company without the consumer’s interest in mind. Furthermore, the zeal of the DOJ does not match Google’s actual position in the market. The nature of the tech industry is one of rapid change and development; there is no shortage of competitors for Google to vie against, and, even lose to. Competition and the free market have done more efficiently what the government has attempted and will continue to attempt through regulation and litigation.