U.S. DoJ Again Calls for Google to Sell Chrome

[MacRumors]

There is a good chance that Google will be forced to sell off its Chrome browser, as the U.S. Department of Justice under Donald Trump is continuing to call for Google to divest the browser.

On Friday, the DoJ sent a new proposal [PDF] to the court in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google, and the updated document still recommends that Google sell Chrome. Last year, Google was found to have a search monopoly, and antitrust regulators have since been deciding on the actions that should be taken to address Google's anticompetitive practices.

The DoJ first asked the court to force the sale of Chrome back in November, under the Biden administration. Google donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and Google leadership heaped praise on Trump, perhaps in the hope that the Trump administration would scale back on its recommendations, but that does not appear to have happened.

The latest DoJ filing refers to Google's "unlawful and unchecked, monopolistic conduct" that has led to people being reliant on the Google search engine, calling Google an "economic goliath."
The DoJ says that "Google must divest the Chrome browser" to provide the opportunity for another company to "operate a significant gateway to search the internet" without Google's control.

In addition to divesting Chrome, the DoJ is also recommending that Google be barred from entering into search engine agreements with Apple, which would put an end to the payments that Google makes to Apple to be the default search engine on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but the DoJ does allow for Google to pay Apple for services that don't have to do with search.

The DoJ says that it would also recommend the divestiture of Android if the proposed remedies do not go far enough to keep Google from "improperly leveraging" Android to its advantage, or if Google attempts to circumvent the remedies put in place by the court, but it has backed off of an imminent Android sale. Google is also not being required to divest all of its AI investments.

Google and the DoJ will be back in court in April where the judge overseeing the case will decide on remedies.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: U.S. DoJ Again Calls for Google to Sell Chrome

 

[F23]

Tim this is your moment. Buy Chrome and rule the browser kingdom.

 

[al256]

Release Safari on Windows again.

 

[The Barron]

Do as you are instructed Google.

 

[JohnC1959]

Hmmm does Chrome really give Google such a big advantage? There are several web browsers that get a decent share of the market. I like Google for a number of things but I don't use Chrome (anymore). Switching browsers was easy.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Do they really need the agreement with Apple? Sometimes I use Bing or Brave search, and it is complete crap.

 

[JohnC1959]

Do they really need the agreement with Apple? Sometimes I use Bing or Brave search, and it is complete crap.

Agree. If Apple gave the users a list of search engines to set as default I suspect 90%+ would select Google.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Nothing that can't be solved by some well placed, fully corrupt, quid pro quo bribe payments to the wannabe Godfather

 

[XboxEvolved]

Interesting…I feel that this admin is doing it for alternative reasons to the other, but if it spurs competition I’m for it.

 

[JohnC1959]

The only things even close to a monopoly that Google has is the search engine itself. But, unlike phone service prior to AT&T breakup, it's extremely easy to switch to another search engine. The only reason Google keeps its share is that the majority haven't found a better alternative. If there is a better alternative we'd be reading all about it and within seconds change our browsers to use the new engine.

 

[risenphoenixkai]

Google donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and Google leadership heaped praise on Trump, perhaps in the hope that the Trump administration would scale back on its recommendations, but that does not appear to have happened.

Other tech leaders should take heed that publicly debasing yourself before Agent Orange is in no way guaranteed to deliver the results you’re after. If your goal doesn’t benefit him personally, he will not care about it, or you.

The soap opera that’s going to ensue when he and Musk have their inevitable breakup is going to be epic to watch. Not enough popcorn in the whole world for that one.

 

[pradeepbabloo]

layman here, Are they not allowed to make it as subsidiary? Do have to sell to some other company?

 

[BGPL]

From the DOJ perspective, I would think the app store is a much bigger problem than the chrome browser by far. It's almost as if DOJ is giving Apple a pass. I would guess those million dollar donations help.

 

[JohnC1959]

layman here, Are they not allowed to make it as subsidiary? Do have to sell to some other company?

Controlling ownership is what matters so a subsidiary wouldn't cut it.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

If they sell it, couldn’t they just make another browser?

 

[sw1tcher]

There is a good chance that Google will be forced to sell off its Chrome browser, as the U.S. Department of Justice under Donald Trump is continuing to call for Google to divest the browser.

I told you the DoJ would move forward with this

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

layman here, Are they not allowed to make it as subsidiary? Do have to sell to some other company?

Not an expert but I would bet Google does what they do with browsers like Firefox and pay them to effectively stay in the market…smoke and mirrors. Additionally, Google would probably claim Chrome is built on Chromium which is open source so it’s not our fault customers choose Chrome for convenience with their Google products.

It’s all for show, nothing will happen and “donations” will be made to the appropriate people to delay it indefinitely.

 

[Eorlas]

read the article, they already did that.

 

[ThailandToo]

The only things even close to a monopoly that Google has is the search engine itself. But, unlike phone service prior to AT&T breakup, it's extremely easy to switch to another search engine. The only reason Google keeps its share is that the majority haven't found a better alternative. If there is a better alternative we'd be reading all about it and within seconds change our browsers to use the new engine.

Not like Apple that acts like a truly anticompetitive market dominator of its ecosystem. I prefer making Apple allow us to have the same privileges as EU Apple users.

 

[JohnC1959]

Not like Apple that acts like a truly anticompetitive market dominator of its ecosystem. I prefer making Apple allow us to have the same privileges as EU Apple users.

yeah, I agree with maybe 90% of what the EU has done regarding Apple. It may go too far is a small number of cases but by and large it's already brought healthy changes. I very much like Apple products but I like them a bit better now after some forced changes.

 

[KPOM]

Not sure why Trump is following the Biden antitrust playbook.

 

[transmaster]

And once upon a time, the big stink was Windows Explorer versus Netscape. Then, Mozilla came along, then Firefox came out of Mozilla. I remember the day Google came out: September 4, 1998. I loaded it and tried it, and I like it and have used it every since. Only alternating it with Firefox. I have used most of the others but Google/Chrome just worked better. One thing I do not like about Google/Chrome today is the tricks being played with the algorithms to gaslight certain topics. It isn't usually a problem with me because I know exactly what I am looking for. But when you have to drill down through several pages to get good answer that sucks.

 

[munpip214]

Tim this is your moment. Buy Chrome and rule the browser kingdom.

Google pays billions to Apple right now to be default search engine (for now). I wonder if they could get the same deal if they buy chrome.

 

[KanosWRX]

Stupidest decision ever.. MS never had to sell IE and they were much worse imo.. actually still are.. cant get away from Edge to this day, they shove it down your throat every time windows upgrades. The hypocrisy runs while.

 

[johnsc3]

There is a good chance that Google will be forced to sell off its Chrome browser, as the U.S. Department of Justice under Donald Trump is continuing to call for Google to divest the browser.

On Friday, the DoJ sent a new proposal [PDF] to the court in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google, and the updated document still recommends that Google sell Chrome. Last year, Google was found to have a search monopoly, and antitrust regulators have since been deciding on the actions that should be taken to address Google's anticompetitive practices.

The DoJ first asked the court to force the sale of Chrome back in November, under the Biden administration. Google donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and Google leadership heaped praise on Trump, perhaps in the hope that the Trump administration would scale back on its recommendations, but that does not appear to have happened.

The latest DoJ filing refers to Google's "unlawful and unchecked, monopolistic conduct" that has led to people being reliant on the Google search engine, calling Google an "economic goliath."
The DoJ says that "Google must divest the Chrome browser" to provide the opportunity for another company to "operate a significant gateway to search the internet" without Google's control.

In addition to divesting Chrome, the DoJ is also recommending that Google be barred from entering into search engine agreements with Apple, which would put an end to the payments that Google makes to Apple to be the default search engine on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but the DoJ does allow for Google to pay Apple for services that don't have to do with search.

The DoJ says that it would also recommend the divestiture of Android if the proposed remedies do not go far enough to keep Google from "improperly leveraging" Android to its advantage, or if Google attempts to circumvent the remedies put in place by the court, but it has backed off of an imminent Android sale. Google is also not being required to divest all of its AI investments.

Google and the DoJ will be back in court in April where the judge overseeing the case will decide on remedies.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: U.S. DoJ Again Calls for Google to Sell Chrome

Not too sure I like how this could play out against other companies. You develop an OS and you develop a browser- so you are potentially a target for DoJ to ‘ask’ you to sell.

I’m kinda surprised- Trump & Gov. hadn’t put this to rest.

If I were the wonder twins APPL / MSFT they’ll need to get in the game on this one.