The Department of Justice insists on the sale of the browser and new rules for Google.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Office is preparing an unprecedented demand to force Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company) to sell the Chrome browser, Bloomberg sources say. This could be the biggest restriction on the tech giant's activities in decades.
The case was started under the first Trump administration and continued under Joe Biden. In August, federal judge Amit Mehta admitted that Google had illegally monopolized the search engine and search advertising market.
Chrome is a key tool for the company's advertising business. The browser, which controls about 61% of the market in the United States, allows you to track the actions of registered users and collect data for precise targeting of ads, Google's main source of revenue. In addition, through Chrome, the company directs users to its flagship product in the field of artificial intelligence - Gemini.
Antitrust officials and representatives of the states that joined the case plan to present their recommendations to a federal judge on Wednesday. Among the offers:
At the same time, according to the interlocutors of the publication, the antimonopoly authorities refused "tougher measures," which include the sale of Android. Some details may still change, the newspaper notes.
Google now displays AI-powered responses at the top of search pages called "AI Reviews." While websites may opt out of using their information to build Google's AI models, they can't afford to opt out of reviews, as doing so risks lowering search results and making it harder to reach their audiences. Site owners complain that this feature reduces traffic and ad revenue, as users rarely click through to the sites themselves.
The final decision on this case must be made by August 2025. A two-week hearing will be held in April to consider specific measures to restrict the company's operations.
Leigh-Ann Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, said the Justice Department "continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case." According to her, such interference could harm consumers, developers and the technological leadership of the United States.
It's the most serious attempt to limit the tech company's influence since the antitrust case against Microsoft twenty years ago. A successful forced sale of Chrome will depend on the presence of an interested buyer. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts, although the likelihood of such a sale is extremely small, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for which the acquisition of the browser will provide an opportunity to expand the distribution system and supplement the advertising business of subscriptions to the chatbot, may become a potential buyer.
Against the backdrop of this news, shares of Alphabet Inc. fell 1.8% to $172.16 during evening trading, although they have risen 25% since the beginning of the year.
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The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Office is preparing an unprecedented demand to force Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company) to sell the Chrome browser, Bloomberg sources say. This could be the biggest restriction on the tech giant's activities in decades.
The case was started under the first Trump administration and continued under Joe Biden. In August, federal judge Amit Mehta admitted that Google had illegally monopolized the search engine and search advertising market.
Chrome is a key tool for the company's advertising business. The browser, which controls about 61% of the market in the United States, allows you to track the actions of registered users and collect data for precise targeting of ads, Google's main source of revenue. In addition, through Chrome, the company directs users to its flagship product in the field of artificial intelligence - Gemini.
Antitrust officials and representatives of the states that joined the case plan to present their recommendations to a federal judge on Wednesday. Among the offers:
- Requiring Google to sell the Chrome browser.
- Oblige Google to license the results and data of its popular search engine.
- Give websites more options to prevent their content from being used in Google's AI products.
- Separate the Android operating system for smartphones from the company's other products, including search and the Google Play app store, which are now sold as a bundle.
- Give advertisers more information and control over the placement of their ads.
At the same time, according to the interlocutors of the publication, the antimonopoly authorities refused "tougher measures," which include the sale of Android. Some details may still change, the newspaper notes.
Google now displays AI-powered responses at the top of search pages called "AI Reviews." While websites may opt out of using their information to build Google's AI models, they can't afford to opt out of reviews, as doing so risks lowering search results and making it harder to reach their audiences. Site owners complain that this feature reduces traffic and ad revenue, as users rarely click through to the sites themselves.
The final decision on this case must be made by August 2025. A two-week hearing will be held in April to consider specific measures to restrict the company's operations.
Leigh-Ann Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, said the Justice Department "continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case." According to her, such interference could harm consumers, developers and the technological leadership of the United States.
It's the most serious attempt to limit the tech company's influence since the antitrust case against Microsoft twenty years ago. A successful forced sale of Chrome will depend on the presence of an interested buyer. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts, although the likelihood of such a sale is extremely small, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for which the acquisition of the browser will provide an opportunity to expand the distribution system and supplement the advertising business of subscriptions to the chatbot, may become a potential buyer.
Against the backdrop of this news, shares of Alphabet Inc. fell 1.8% to $172.16 during evening trading, although they have risen 25% since the beginning of the year.
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