Google released Chrome in 2008 and it became synonymous with the company and its search engine. Well, that might no longer be the case if if the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has its way. The DOJ’s antitrust officials reportedly plan to request a federal judge orders Google to sell off Chrome, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the plan.
In August, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google “is a monopolist” in the search engine industry. Mehta further agreed Google used its “monopoly power by charging supracompetitive prices for general search text ads.” The company takes signed-in users’ data to create targeted advertising, however, Mehta ruled Google doesn’t hold the same monopoly power when it comes to the general search advertising market.
In response to the ruling, antitrust officers also reportedly plan to suggest Google changes its data licensing policies. A new proposal would have Google syndicate search results separately and sell its click and query data. These moves could aid rival search engines and AI startups. The officers reportedly considered asking Mehta to force Google to sell of Android but have moved away from that request. The DOJ submitted initial proposals in October to remedy Google’s actions.
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Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, stated, that the “government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
Mehta’s August ruling stems from a 2020 lawsuit filed by the DOJ and about one-fifth of the states, including Florida, Indiana and Texas. It argued that Google spent billions of dollars annually to device manufacturers, US wireless carriers and browser developers “to secure default status for its general search engine and, in many cases, to specifically prohibit Google’s counterparties from dealing with Google’s competitors.” According to testimony from Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s chief technologist, the company spent $26.3 billion in 2021 to maintain its default search engine status — a majority of which likely went to Apple.
A two-week hearing is set for April 2025 on changes for Google to implement, with a final ruling expected by August next year.
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