The US justice department and a group of states asked a federal court late Wednesday to force Google to sell Chrome, its web browser, a move that could fundamentally alter the $2 trillion company’s business and reshape competition on the internet.
The request follows a landmark ruling in Aug by Judge Amit P Mehta of the US district court for the district of Columbia that found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Judge Mehta asked the justice department and the states that brought the antitrust case to submit solutions by the end of Wednesday to correct the search monopoly.
Beyond the sale of Chrome, the govt asked Judge Mehta to give Google a choice: either sell Android, its smartphone operating system, or bar Google from making its services mandatory on phones that use Android to operate. If Google broke those terms, or the remedies failed to improve competition, the govt could force the company to sell Android at a later date.
The govt also asked the judge to stop Google from entering into paid agreements with Apple and others to be the automatically selected search engine on phones and in browsers. Google should also be required to allow rival search engines to display the company’s results and access its data for a decade, the govt said. The proposals are the most significant remedies requested in a tech antitrust case since the justice department asked to break up Microsoft in 2000. If Judge Mehta adopts the proposals, they will set the tone for a string of other antitrust cases that challenge the dominance of tech behemoths, including Apple, Amazon and Meta.
Being forced to sell Chrome and Android would be among the worst possible outcomes for Google. Chrome, which was introduced in 2008 and is free to use, is the most popular web browser in the world, with an estimated 67% of the global browser market, according to Statcounter, which compiles tech market data. Android is the world’s most popular mobile software, with an estimated 71% of the market, according to Statcounter. The system is open-source, meaning that Samsung and other phone manufacturers do not have to pay Google for its use. But most Android devices come with Google’s apps already installed.
Google is set to file its own suggestions for fixing the search monopoly by Dec 20. Both sides can modify their requests before Judge Mehta is expected to hear arguments on the remedies this spring. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, called the govt’s proposal “extreme.” “DOJ’s wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the court’s decision,” he said. “It would break a range of Google products – even beyond Search – people love and find helpful in their everyday lives.”