Google has warned that forcing it to sell Chrome would hurt consumers and business, opposing the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) reported proposal. In light of Judge Amit Mehta August’s decision on Google Chrome’s sale and accusation that it has an online search monopoly, the DOJ plans to submit this proposal to a judge on Wednesday.
Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland labeled the DOJ’S approach as “radical” and far beyond the core legal issues of the case. Reports indicate that the DOJ also wants Google to implement new policies regarding data use, Android, and artificial intelligence. Mulholland argued that government interference would hurt American technology leadership, consumers, and developers.
According to the web traffic tracker Similarweb, Chrome is the most used browser in the world, with a 64.61% global market share in October. According to Statcounter, Google controls around 90% of the worldwide search industry.
Chrome and a number of smartphone browsers like Apple’s safari uses google as a default browser. Judge Mehta referred to Google’s default search engine agreement as “extremely valuable real estate.” In order to limit Google’s search dominance, the DOJ will be presenting final solutions, which may include separating off products like Chrome, Play, and Android.
Google denied accusations of having a monopoly over search engines and warned against Google Chrome’s sale as it would be harder to keep the search engine secure. Meanwhile, Google’s search and ad revenues rose 10% to $65.9 billion in its latest quarterly report, highlighting its dominant market position.
