DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

[China]

DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

Google has gotten its first taste of remedies that Donald Trump’s Department of Justice plans to pursue to break up the tech giant’s monopoly in search. In the first filing since Trump allies took over the department, government lawyers backed off a key proposal submitted by the Biden DOJ. The government won't ask the court to force Google to sell off its AI investments, and the way it intends to handle Android is changing. However, the most serious penalty is intact—Google's popular Chrome browser is still on the chopping block.

"Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that—no matter what occurs—Google always wins," the DOJ filing says. To that end, the government maintains that Chrome must go if the playing field is to be made level again.

The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to promptly and fully divest itself of Chrome, along with any data or other assets required for its continued operation. It is essentially aiming to take the Chrome user base—consisting of some 3.4 billion people—away from Google and hand it to a competitor. The government will vet any potential buyers to ensure the sale does not pose a national security threat. During the term of the judgment, Google would not be allowed to release any new browsers. However, it may continue to contribute to the open source Chromium project.

This filing includes some changes from the initial remedy filings of 2024, but more changes could be coming. The case is currently under the purview of Omeed Assefi, who is leading the DOJ's Antitrust Division until Trump nominee Gail Slater gets Senate confirmation. Slater expressed support for increased scrutiny of Big Tech in her confirmation hearings, suggesting she could seek to turn the screws on Google after taking charge.

Unsurprisingly, Google's remedy position is light-years away from the Justice Department's. "DOJ’s sweeping proposals continue to go miles beyond the Court’s decision and would harm America’s consumers, economy, and national security," said a Google spokesperson.

As expected, Google did not change its suggested remedies in the case, handing the court a proposal identical to the one it filed months ago. Google says it's open to changing the way search placement deals work for browsers and Android devices, plus it would accept some additional regulatory oversight to ensure compliance. However, staffing changes at the DOJ and Google's recent meetings have not done much to change the government's desire to carve up the company.

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[Renegade7]

Good on Trump keeping this going, broken clock right twice a day.

I'm at peace if they can pry Android away from them, anything else is pipe dream.

[Simmsy]

I'm sure a campaign donation or a settled lawsuit in Trump's favor will end all of this.

[DCSaints_fan]

Chrome itself is 65% market share.

The bigger issue is Chromium underneath, which Safari and Edge use, which pushes the market share to > 90% .

But to be devils advocate, around 2000, Microsoft had a > 95% marketshare. DoJ recommended they be broken up (separate Office products from the Windows), but Bush took office and ... nothing.