The US Justice Department and several states have asked a federal court to compel Google to sell Chrome, its widely-used web browser, in a move that could reshape the $2 trillion company's future and transform internet competition, according to reporting from The New York Times. The request, submitted Wednesday, follows Judge Amit P. Mehta's August ruling in the US District Court for the District of Columbia that found Google had illegally maintained a search monopoly.
The government's proposal, marking the most significant tech antitrust remedy since the 2000 Microsoft case, also gives Google an ultimatum: either sell Android, its smartphone operating system or eliminate mandatory Google services on Android devices. Chrome commands roughly 67% of the global browser market, while Android dominates mobile software with a 71% market share, according to Statcounter. "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," government officials stated in their filing.
Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, strongly contested the government's stance. "DOJ's wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the court's decision," he wrote in a blog post, arguing it would disrupt Google products that consumers find valuable. The company is expected to submit its own remedial proposals by Dec. 20, with Judge Mehta scheduled to hear arguments this spring and issue a ruling by summer's end.
The case stems from Google's practice of paying companies like Apple, Mozilla, and Samsung to be the default search engine on their devices, with payments reaching $26.3 billion in 2021, according to trial evidence. While Google maintains users choose its service for superior performance, the Justice Department argued these agreements cemented the company's market dominance by ensuring robust search traffic and data collection.
The government's filing also seeks to restrict Google's artificial intelligence ventures, requesting forced divestiture of stakes in AI companies that could compete in search, including its investment in Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot. Additionally, the proposal would require Google to allow publishers to opt out of having their content used for AI model training, setting up another significant battleground in the ongoing tech regulation debate.
