Force Google to sell Chrome, US DOJ says

The US department of justice (US DOJ) will ask a judge to force Alphabet’s Google to sell off its Chrome internet browser, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans.

The DOJ will also ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolised the search market, to require measures related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system, the report said.

The DOJ declined to comment. Google, in a statement from Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice-president, Google regulatory affairs, said the DOJ is pushing a “radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” and would harm consumers.

The move would be one of the most aggressive attempts by the Biden administration to curb what it alleges are Big Tech monopolies.

Ultimately, however, the re-election of Donald Trump to the presidency could have the greatest impact over the case.

Two months before the election, Trump claimed he would prosecute Google for what he perceives as bias against him. But a month later, Trump questioned whether breaking up the company was a good idea.

The company plans to appeal once US District Judge Amit Mehta makes a final ruling, which he is likely to do by August 2025.

Prosecutors had floated a range of potential remedies in the case, from ending exclusive agreements where Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple Inc and other companies to remain the default search engine on tablets and smart phones, all the way to divesting parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system.

Google maintains its search engine has won users with its quality, adding that it faces robust competition from Amazon and other sites and users can choose other search engines as their default.

The government has the option to decide whether a Chrome sale is necessary at a later date if some of the other aspects of the remedy create a more competitive market, the Bloomberg report said.