US administration urges Google to sell Chrome
(MENAFN) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has intensified its antitrust case against Google, targeting the tech giant's overwhelming control of the online search market. According to multiple reports, the DOJ is now pushing for drastic measures, including forcing Google to divest its popular Chrome web browser.
This latest phase of the trial, which began on Monday, follows a years-long investigation and culminated in an August ruling that declared Google holds an illegal monopoly in the search industry. Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is now hearing arguments on how to effectively dismantle this monopoly. Remedies are expected to be ordered by summer’s end.
The DOJ argues that Google should face tangible consequences for its anti-competitive practices. One of the proposed actions is a court-mandated sale of Chrome, which the government claims is instrumental in funneling users to Google Search. “This is the moment for the court to show that monopolies have real consequences,” DOJ attorney David Dahlquist stated, as quoted by The New York Times.
Additional government proposals include ending Google’s agreements that secure its default search engine status on mobile devices and requiring the company to share key user data with its competitors to create a more level playing field.
The government maintains that Google, which commands roughly 90% of the global search engine market, has maintained its position through unfair deals that block competition—ultimately harming users and advertisers alike. Notably, it was revealed during an earlier trial that Google pays Apple over $20 billion annually to remain the default search provider on Safari.
In court on Monday, Google’s lawyer John Schmidtlein pushed back, calling the DOJ’s proposed remedies “extreme” and “deeply flawed.” He argued that Google’s dominance is a result of fair market competition and that forcing a sale of Chrome would unjustly benefit competitors who hadn’t earned that position.
While Google has expressed willingness to renegotiate some agreements with Apple and other partners to allow more visibility for rival search engines, it firmly opposes most of the DOJ’s recommendations. The company insists these changes could stifle innovation and says it already faces rising competition from new AI-powered companies like OpenAI.
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