Google may soon be forced to break up with its popular web browser -- and it's not Chrome, it's them -- as the Justice Department is calling on the company to divest for its longtime monopoly on the search market.
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Google launched Chrome in 2008 as an alternative web browser and a federal judge ruled in a landmark anti-trust case brought by several states in August that it has used it to illegally crush search engine competition. Chrome is a search engine and also how Google obtains data to use for targeting ads.
Google's search engine accounts for about 90% of all online searches globally, according to a web traffic analysis platform.
In a Wednesday filing, the DOJ said forcing Google to get rid of Chrome would give other search engines an equal playing field, creating more competition. And that would have far-reaching implications for everything from retailers to news outlets.
“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” the 23-page filing reads.
The DOJ also said that Google could not enter into exclusionary agreements with third parties like Apple and Samsung and that it is prohibited from giving its search service preference within its other products.
The remedies are supposed to prevent Google from eliminating “emerging competitive threats through acquisitions, minority investments, or partnerships,” according to the DOJ.
The DOJ also set a timeline for Google, saying the “proposed remedies run for a period of 10 years.” Google may also be required to provide a technical committee with a monthly report that outlines any changes to its search text ads auction.
“The proposed remedies are designed to end Google’s unlawful practices and open up the market for rivals and new entrants to emerge,” the filing reads.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, earned $49.4 billion in revenue from search advertising in the third quarter of this year, representing three-quarters of total ad sales in the period.
Along with its efforts to get Google to divest Chrome, the DOJ is also looking to make the company divest its Android mobile operating system and/or no longer enter into contracts with companies - including Apple and Samsung - that make its search engine the default on many smartphones and browsers.
However, the DOJ says that while the move would also aid in restoring competition, “Plaintiffs recognize that such divestiture may draw significant objections from Google or other market participants.”
Instead, the options the DOJ suggested included blunting “Google’s ability to use its control of the Android ecosystem to favor its general search services.”
The DOJ says a recommendation to divest from Android will only come if they “ultimately fail to achieve the high standards for meaningful relief in these critical markets.”
Google is planning on appealing the monopoly ruling, saying it would draw out any final remedy decisions. Google is expected to counter with its own proposed remedies by 20 December.
And the judge is set to issue a decision by the summer of 2025.
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