US Government May Force Google to Sell Chrome and Split Android

Walls are closing in around Google. Afterwards lost second major antitrust case This year, the government is set to unveil the proposed solution, which could take a big bite out of Google’s business. The Justice Department will reportedly ask the trial judge to address Google’s unfair search monopoly by forcing Google to sell Chrome and separate its services from Android.

Google it recently lost a pair of antitrust lawsuits, one regarding the Play Store and the other regarding online search. In both cases, Google was found to be illegally using its monopoly to stifle competition and reduce consumer choice. Even in the case of the allegedly open Play Store running on the Android platform, Google’s misconduct was so obvious that it was found to have violated antitrust law when Apple defeated a similar case targeting the walled garden platform.

With the search monopoly decision, the government sees the right to take aggressive action against Google. Some of the possible penalties are reminiscent of the lawsuit the government filed against Microsoft two decades ago, in which the government tried but failed to break up Microsoft. Google may not have broken up, but things may change on the internet.

Chrome and artificial intelligence

By the way The DOJ team consulted with numerous attorneys and industry experts to decide the path forward for Bloomberg. The government now thinks that Google’s ownership of Chrome underpins its anti-competitive behavior and that the best way to fix this is to force Google to abandon Chrome.

Credit: Google

Chrome has more than 60% of the global browser market share. The underlying open-source Chromium project, over which Google largely controls, powers many other browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Brave. The government will argue that Google’s control over Chrome gives it great power to direct users to its services and search engine.

The widespread use of Chrome has given Google a great advantage. The company can see: online activity of logged in usersand you can bet that Google is doing everything it can to get people to sign in with a Google account. This helps direct people to Google products; Some of these products will seek to increase sales of additional services. Chrome, for example, has been key to the growth of Google’s Gemini AI model.

Additionally, the government could ask the judge to impose limits on how Google can collect data to train its artificial intelligence. Specifically, courts could give websites greater authority to exclude their content from being used in Google’s AI models.

Google AI server racks. Credit: Google

Removing Chrome from Google’s portfolio has the potential to make it more neutral regarding the services it promotes. It is unclear whether Google will transfer Chrome to a new company or sell it to a different company. States are still providing input on the path forward and details may still change.

Android Reserved

Google’s mobile operating system is also a target of antitrust lawyers. Initially the government was prone to complete disintegration, forcing Google to split Android becomes a separate entity. But the DOJ is allegedly backing away from that and will instead ask the judge to force Google to unbundle Android.

Like Chrome, Android is still an open source project. There’s nothing stopping someone from creating a fork that works differently; Many companies have done just that, but none have yet had any impact on the market. Google’s Android licensing requires OEMs to include certain services by default, but after this, this may no longer be allowed. This is separate possible penalties In Epic’s case, this could include requiring Google to promote third-party app stores and make apps more portable.

Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Under the emerging plan, Google will need to separate Google Play and Google Search from Android. The logistics of this move can be confusing; Nearly every Android phone in the world has Google’s services installed. The company has frequently used its market position to force OEMs to bundle Google services at the expense of others; got into trouble First of all, with Epic Games. Under the plan, Google will need to avoid anti-competitive deals that shut out companies like Epic.

This move could give device manufacturers the option to build devices in such a way that Google services are an afterthought or even not bundled in. Instead, you can get phones that offer different app ecosystems and search providers. Google may then have to compete for mobile users; This is something it hasn’t had to do since the days when mobile was irrelevant.

One More Case

Google is already in a tough spot, but it may soon have another competitive loss to contend with. A lawsuit accusing Google of illegally monopolizing the ad tech market is still playing out in the courts. Arguments began this fall, and closing arguments are expected later this month.

A decision in this case is expected in early 2025. Google will appeal the decision if it loses, as it has the last few times. But a third competitive loss would disrupt Google’s plans. It’s already having major setbacks in monetization with Chrome and Android, but advertising is Google’s golden goose.

Google naturally disputes the substance of all these lawsuits. Google believes the DOJ’s alleged plans for Chrome, Android, and AI are being treated unfairly. “The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda in this case that goes well beyond the legal issues,” says Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs. Mulholland omits to mention Google’s healthy results, saying the government’s actions will harm consumers and American technology. The company is now making more money than ever before, seeing revenue growth of 15% in the latest quarter.