DOJ Will Push Google to Sell Chrome to Break Search Monopoly

[Cpvr]

The Department of Justice is planning to ask for Google’s antitrust trial judge to force the company to sell off its Chrome browser after the judge ruled the company has maintained an illegal search monopoly, reports Bloomberg.
Chrome is the world’s most widely used browser, and the government’s lawyers have argued that its use in cross-promoting Google’s products is one of the things limiting available channels and incentives for competition to grow.

Requirements that officials are preparing to propose include that Google separate Android from Search and Google Play, but without trying to force Google to sell off Android. Another requirement would say it has to share more information with advertisers and that it “give them more control over where their ads appear,” the outlet writes.
Bloomberg also reports that officials will recommend that the company “give websites more options to prevent their content from being used by Google’s artificial intelligence products.” Finally, they will reportedly push for “a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of the case against Google.”
Google’s regulatory affairs VP, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said that the DOJ “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Bloomberg writes.

US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android

The DOJ will try to break up Google.

www.theverge.com

 

[Arantor]

Whatever happens this will be interesting.

Forcing Google to split off Chrome is a particularly interesting question because it gets into: who then maintains it? Will a new company be set up to manage it, and if so what will its funding structure look like? Microsoft, Brave, Opera etc. also then have a vested interest in sponsoring that new company.

On a side note if that happens, one assumes Firefox's funding will largely dry up because Google will have limited reason to fund them (since their value to Google is primarily in existing as the browser that demonstrates Chrome isn't a monopoly... ooops)

But anything that encourages browsers not to be a vehicle for Google to control more of the internet is fine by me.

 

[Cory]

How will this work for people who own a Google Chromebook like myself?

 

[Arantor]

No-one knows. Presumably Google will still update those because that’s not “the Chrome browser” but ChromeOS (which is a modified version)