US Justice Department calls for Google to sell Chrome to end search monopoly, puts Android under scrutiny

[DragonSlayer101]

What just happened? The US Department of Justice wants Google to sell off its Chrome web browser to prevent the tech giant from maintaining its monopoly in online search. It is one of several proposals the DOJ included in its new filing in the DC District Court late on Wednesday after Judge Amit Mehta found Google responsible for running a monopoly in online search and digital advertising.

The DOJ also expressed concerns over Google's control of Android, the world's most popular mobile operating platform. According to the government, Google's ownership of Chrome and Android pose "a significant challenge" to making the search market competitive again. While the DOJ isn't demanding that Google sell off Android immediately, it hinted that it could add that clause if the company keeps using the OS to further its monopolistic ambitions.

The filing also urged the court to prohibit Alphabet from entering into exclusive third-party contracts with browser or phone companies to set Google as the default search provider. Google currently has an agreement with Apple to be the default search engine on all Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the Safari browser.

The DOJ outlined other key proposals that it believes could effectively end Google's monopoly in search and ads. First, the agency wants Google to license its search data and ad click rate data to rivals. Secondly, it wants the court to prohibit the company from entering the browser market for at least five years after selling off Chrome. Finally, the DOJ said that Google shouldn't be allowed to acquire or own any rival digital ad technology, online search service, and query-based AI products.

In addition to the aforementioned proposals pertaining to consumer-facing software and services, the DOJ also proposed that Google should offer publishers an easy way to opt out of its data being used to train AI models. If the court accepts this proposal, it will be a massive blow to the company in its battle for AI supremacy against rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and others.

Responding to the DOJ's filing, Google accused the agency of having a "radical interventionist agenda" that could harm not just the company, but also its users. Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker argued that implementing these changes could seriously jeopardize user security and privacy, while also hurting independent software makers like Mozilla, whose Firefox browser depends on revenue from Google.

Walker added that the proposals are tantamount to an "unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses." He claims the approach will damage America's standing as a tech superpower and "jeopardize America's global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it's needed most."

Google is set to file its response to the DOJ's proposals next month. The trial is expected to start in April 2025.

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US Justice Department calls for Google to sell Chrome to end search monopoly, puts Android under scrutiny

 

[Puiu]

It was bound to happen eventually. Google grew too big and too evil.

 

[maxxcool7421]

'''wants'' and '''suing'' are two different things, wake me up when this is ACTUALLY in a courtroom ... spoiler alert with RUMP the 34x convicted financial felon it will never go to court and google will get to keep ruling the earth and selling influence to your children to the highest bidder.

 

[Puiu]

'''wants'' and '''suing'' are two different things, wake me up when this is ACTUALLY in a courtroom ... spoiler alert with RUMP the 34x convicted financial felon it will never go to court and google will get to keep ruling the earth and selling influence to your children to the highest bidder.

"The trial is expected to start in April 2025."

 

[dangh]

So, apple and ms are next? I'm not fan of google, but that is a really stupid move. without clear rules and regulations it is just a way to attack a company because come lobbyists were more successful.

 

[NumberNine]

Google likes to speak with a lot of authority about the wants and needs of every human being on the planet.

I wish I had that kind of confidence, to just walk into a room and start telling people what they need.

 

[noblody]

They could sell chrome. But who would be interested? Maybe the chinese ... that would be a good move. also hand over some of the search traffic to baidu and yandex. they surely are nice people, not monopolists

 

[Puiu]

They could sell chrome. But who would be interested? Maybe the chinese ... that would be a good move. also hand over some of the search traffic to baidu and yandex. they surely are nice people, not monopolists

A LOT of people would be interested in the browser with the largest market share in the world

 

[trparky]

It was bound to happen eventually. Google grew too big and too evil.

I remember when Google's motto was "Don't be evil". They sure don't remember that these days.

 

[trparky]

So, apple and ms are next? I'm not fan of google, but that is a really stupid move. without clear rules and regulations it is just a way to attack a company because come lobbyists were more successful.

EXCUSE ME!!! Seriously? The fact that Google is pushing Manifest V3 which effectively kills most adblocker extensions is all the proof you need that Google should be forced to sell off Chrome. After all, adblockers interferes with their advertising platform and oh yeah, they can't have that!

 

[noblody]

EXCUSE ME!!! Seriously? The fact that Google is pushing Manifest V3 which effectively kills most adblocker extensions is all the proof you need that Google should be forced to sell off Chrome. After all, adblockers interferes with their advertising platform and oh yeah, they can't have that!

People can already use firefox or edge or brave or opera. Nobody forces chrome on anybody, it's not even preloaded on most computers. And if ppl can install tiktok on their phone, they can find those browsers there too, and adblockers run just fine.

 

[trparky]

People can already use firefox or edge or brave or opera. Nobody forces chrome on anybody, it's not even preloaded on most computers.

Too bad Edge uses Chromium code and will eventually push Manifest V3 at some point. As for Firefox, man... have you looked at how they're doing financially? They're practically on death's doorstep.

 

[AnilD]

"Don't be evil" Google and today's Google are two very different species.

 

[ZedRM]

Seems like a good thing to me. Google needs to be roped in a bit. Not as much as Microsoft, but still.

 

[toooooot]

How about Android or search engine instead?

 

[Watzupken]

Android is pretty much like Google's data engine because billions of phones likely runs on some form of Android. So you can imagine how much information Google is getting back for whatever reasons or for their core advertising purpose. So to ask Google to split up Android is very unlikely. They will fight to the bitter end. Chrome is also highly likely to be a data gathering tool for Google, but I think to a lesser extent to Android.

 

[Puiu]

So, apple and ms are next? I'm not fan of google, but that is a really stupid move. without clear rules and regulations it is just a way to attack a company because come lobbyists were more successful.

Yes, Apple, MS and many others are next (literally, either already sued or under investigation) because that's the right thing to do. These companies have grown too big to control and are in fact the ones in control of countries, governments and citizens.

"without clear rules and regulations" - the rules and regulations are clear. abusing some loopholes doesn't make it "unclear". and people like you are the first ones to yell "stop regulations!" when they try to close the loopholes.

 

[noblody]

As for Firefox, man... have you looked at how they're doing financially? They're practically on death's doorstep.

Yes, I actually looked. https://assets.mozilla.net/annualreport/2022/mozilla-fdn-2022-fs-final-0908.pdf
This is the latest report I could find. So they earned about $600M and spent $340M. Also net assets at the end of the year were $1B, +$211M from a year before. Looks quite healthy.

 

[trparky]

Yes, I actually looked. https://assets.mozilla.net/annualreport/2022/mozilla-fdn-2022-fs-final-0908.pdf
This is the latest report I could find. So they earned about $600M and spent $340M. Also net assets at the end of the year were $1B, +$211M from a year before. Looks quite healthy.

Hmm... then I guess they managed to stem the bleeding after the last CEO damn near killed the company.

 

[yannus]

Good thing to hinder google's monopoly but come on, the buyer would have the same monopoly ! Also if you attack chorme's monopoly, please don't forget windows and android.
It would be so much better to promote alternatives instead of just moving the problem. For example to have a random open source browser preinstalled on each device you buy. One would come with Firefox, another one with Brave and so on. Of course user could install the one he wants. No more preinstalled windows but linux instead. Android devices with lineage OS....etc. Open source is the only remedy against predatory corporation.

 

[erickmendes]

"sell Chrome to end search monopoly"... So they want Google to stop being Google? .... I agree google grew too big and now it got everybody data but...

Ok, you build a new company, "Chrome Inc.", outside Alphabet. ... how will this stop the tigh bound of google services with Chrome??? ... Or even outside of Alphabet "influence" (control)?

The only way they could do that is by creating new web services standarts to enable google-chrome like integration, and I think that won't happen anytime soon...

And the search monopoly space, well it's already getting more competition, all the great AI companies are starting to show search solutions... Google got Gemini, nothing can stop Google from supercharging Gemini to launch a search focused Gemini version... what would stop Google from somehow push this solution into Android, in some way?

A big enough market campaign would make every smartphone user install a search focused Gemini version - my own experience I looked for an OpenAI app for android for search purpose... If Google decide (or be forced) it can get everybody going for Gemini search solution in no time, everybody would want to give a try on a new search solution from Google...

All that market control controversy really is critical matters but every solution they propose is just a joke if the solution takes place inside the captalism working model.

 

[erickmendes]

Good thing to hinder google's monopoly but come on, the buyer would have the same monopoly ! Also if you attack chorme's monopoly, please don't forget windows and android.
It would be so much better to promote alternatives instead of just moving the problem. For example to have a random open source browser preinstalled on each device you buy. One would come with Firefox, another one with Brave and so on. Of course user could install the one he wants. No more preinstalled windows but linux instead. Android devices with lineage OS....etc. Open source is the only remedy against predatory corporation.

The pre-installed browser issue could be "regulated" with a section on the Android OOBE (the process you must do when you add an google account into your phone) asking you to choose with browserS you want to install on your phone sorted in someway that don't benefit user base numbers (that would make Chrome showing first...)

It could show questions like "How you intend to browse?", "Do you like to customize your browser?" and so on...

It could let you choose more then one browser to install on your phone, and waiting a period before asking you which browser you want to use as default browser... It could keep on asking you which browser you want to open a page for sometime (a week?). You could still getting into the setting and set a default browser by going into the settings before the "browser trial" period.

The search monopoly, well Google algo may be some uber sophisticated near sentient whatever but still it's a service, a information system... If we take the advertising component out from it we could have something like DNS...

DNS service let you ask for the IP address bound to a name. Ok prob 99% of techspot readers may know what DNS do... But my point is what if somehow we create an internet infrastructure service that could somehow index webpages, just like Google does? A public search infrastructure based on some open software that could somehow do that advanced indexing and ranking service, using open source solution, open standarts and with public audit data? A solution like that is really lightyears away from where we are, but there's no technnical limitation that would stop it from being made. It would need to be funded by governments and have public audit data (event logs and all the data on how it's working) so civil society could keep an eye for attempts of ranking positionning, but still a possible solution.

Anyway it's all too far from reality because money equals power. But there's no technical limitation for a solution like that to come to reallity.

 

[GoldenGoat]

Would that include sale of Chromium too then? Since they can't enter the browser market for 5 years, they would probably have to sell Chromium too. And would the new owner be obligated to keep it open source and allow 3rd party browsers to be based on it?

 

[GoldenGoat]

Google had a search monopoly before they started Chrome. I'm sure having Chrome helps them track people easier and therefore helps their ad business, but I don't think Chrome helped them achieve a search monopoly.

 

[ZedRM]

Would that include sale of Chromium too then? Since they can't enter the browser market for 5 years, they would probably have to sell Chromium too. And would the new owner be obligated to keep it open source and allow 3rd party browsers to be based on it?

Chrome is not the same browser as Chromium. Chromium is open source and is not technically owned by Google. Chrome is. Even though one is based on the other, they are different browsers. Google can't sell Chromium because they don't own it.