Should Google sell its Chrome browser?

The U.S. Department of Justice is going full attack on Google. After an earlier conviction, the government wants to force Google to sell Chrome.

Google was officially named a “monopolist” by a U.S. judge in August. The court ruled after a trial that dragged on for years that Google had built an illegal monopoly with its search engine and advertising model. The U.S. government wants to forge the iron while it is hot. A demerger of Google is a track being vigorously investigated.

How the government plans to handle that is quietly taking shape. The Justice Department is said to have filed a proposal with a federal judge to break up Google, Bloomberg writes. One of the measures proposed by the DOJ is that Google would be forced to sell the Chrome Internet browser.

Gateway to the empire

Chrome plays a central role in Google’s digital empire, the ministry believes. With a global market share of 66 percent, Chrome has virtually no competition in the browser market. Google Search is the starting point of every browsing session in Chrome, making the browser an important gateway to the search engine. As a result, Chrome users are also unlikely to replace Google with another party’s search engine.

Of course, ownership of the most popular browser does not hurt Google’s advertising arm either. Through the browser, Google collects interesting data about Internet users’ Web activity, which it can pass on to advertisers. Chrome is not known as the most privacy-friendly browser out there, and Google has no intention of changing that anytime soon.

Finally, Chrome is also playing a role in the AI push that Google is implementing. Google is integrating its Gemini assistant deeper and deeper into the browser to market it as a digital assistant that follows you around the Internet. So don’t think Google will want to sell Chrome just yet.

Android & AI

The proposed measures are not limited to Chrome. The DOJ also wants Google to decouple the Android operating system from its own services. Every Android phone comes standard with Google apps such as Google Play, Gmail and, of course, Search and Chrome. DOJ no longer wants Google to ship Android with its own services as an inseparable bundle on smartphones.

A final proposal revolves around the AI Overviews that Google recently introduced to its search engine. These provide a brief summary of key search results. Although Google itself claims it makes it easier for Internet visitors to find good sources, Web site owners are less taken with it because it reduces the need to click through to the Web page.

Thus, ad revenue sticks with Google and flows less to Web sites. DOJ would address this in two ways. Google should open up both underlying query data and syndicated search results without restrictions.

Figs after Easter

All the proposed measures will not come immediately. It is first up to the competent court to evaluate and officially impose them on Google. After that, Google can still appeal, which is very likely to happen. In a response to Bloomberg, Google bites off and accuses the DOJ of “promoting a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.”

A final ruling is therefore not expected before August 2025. It then remains to be seen how effective any measures taken will still be by then. In fact, as we concluded in a previous analysis, the calf has long since drowned. Google’s monopoly is firmly entrenched. Pulling Chrome and Google Search apart is not going to make people suddenly switch en masse to alternatives.

The U.S. government does want to send a signal to Google and the tech giants that they can no longer just afford everything. In that respect, it could be nasty years for Google, because it doesn’t have to expect any friends in the new administration either.