U.S. Department of Justice wants Google to sell Chrome

A new report from the U.S. Justice Department claims that the government body is going to ask a federal judge to force Google to sell off the Chrome browser to help make Google less of a monopoly.

According to Bloomberg, the DOJ is also looking to enforce stricter AI and Android OS rules in addition to the push to sell off Chrome. The Justice Department will ask Judge Amit Mehta, who ruled in the summer that Google is running an illegal monopoly over the search market fueled by illegal deals.

Google plans to challenge the case. It claims that the government’s plan to break Chrome off of Google is an overreach and will likely harm consumers. Beyond that, in a global war for tech dominance, it suggests that harming Google will push America even further behind the tech competition.

The Bloomberg report also mentions that the DOJ is holding meetings with other people who might know what to do with Google. Through these meetings, it seems like the push to break up Google might be softer than selling off Chrome and may result in regulations regarding how much Google can flex its monopoly. People in these meetings also suggested that the DOJ  should not attempt to force Google to sell off Android as well. However, antitrust enforcers reportedly plan to propose Google uncouple Android from its other products, like Search and the Play Store.

A report in The Guardian says that Google owns roughly 90 percent of the online search market, and the Chrome browser alone controls 61 percent of the browser market. Google also has one of the fastest-growing AI sectors in the world, making it a leader in that sector and well-poised to become a monopoly there.

While I believe that Google’s iron-clad hold on the search market is a monopoly, I also think that Google Search has gotten worse and worse over the past few years as the company tries to make more money from its biggest service. There is definitely a need for a shake-up in the browser space, but it’s unclear how the DOJ plans to make this happen once Chrome is sold off.

What stumps me is what company would be able to buy Chrome. The app is one of the largest in the world and must carry a considerable price tag, which means that only another huge tech company would be able to afford it. However, if another large company like Meta or Microsoft gets control of Chrome, does that not create another monopoly?

This case is similar to the DOJ’s attempted breakup of Microsoft in the 1990s, but that didn’t last long since Microsoft appealed the breakup a year later and won, allowing it to keep the company together. Google has a very powerful legal team, so I’d expect it to fight tooth and nail to keep Chrome under the Alphabet umbrella.

Source: Bloomberg, (1), The Guardian