November 19, 2024 – According to a report by Bloomberg, the top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department has decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet’s Google to sell its Chrome browser, citing it as a key gateway for most people to access its search engine.
The move, described by Bloomberg as the most aggressive action taken by the U.S. government against a technology company since Washington attempted to break up Microsoft two decades ago, is expected to deal a historic blow to Google. Following the news, Google’s share price fell 1.8% to $172.16 in after-hours trading.
Sources familiar with the plan revealed that the Justice Department will petition the same judge who ruled in August that Google had “illegally monopolized the search market” to take measures related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system.
Antitrust officials have reportedly abandoned a more severe option, which would have forced Google to sell Android. Government lawyers have prepared this recommendation after meeting with dozens of companies over the past three months. However, states involved in the antitrust case are still considering adding some proposals, and some details may change, according to the informed sources.
The antitrust officials and states involved in the case have also suggested that federal judge Amit Mehta implement data licensing requirements. Regarding data licensing, antitrust enforcers plan to propose two options: Google selling underlying “click and query” data and separately providing its search results.
Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, stated that the Justice Department is “continuing to push a radical agenda that far exceeds the legal scope of this case.” She added, “Government intervention in this way will harm consumers, developers, and America’s technological leadership, precisely when it is needed most.”
Sources indicated that the government might choose to postpone the decision on whether to sell Chrome if certain aspects of the remedies offered by Google can create a more competitive market.
According to data from web traffic analysis service StatCounter, Chrome currently holds approximately 61% of the browser market share in the United States.
