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DOJ Pushes Google to Sell Chrome, Break Search Monopoly After Court Ruling

Nov 20, 2024, 02:30 PM

The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly pushing for Google to sell its Chrome browser as part of a historic antitrust action aimed at breaking up the company's search monopoly. Following a federal court ruling by Judge Amit Mehta that Google maintains an illegal monopoly over online search, antitrust officials plan to ask a judge to force the divestiture of Chrome. The proposed remedies may also include ending Google's multibillion-dollar payments to secure default search positions, syndicating search results to competitors for 10 years, and potentially separating the Android operating system from Google if other measures fail. Google's search advertising revenue was $49.4 billion in the third quarter. If approved, the forced sale of Chrome, which is valued at an estimated $15-20 billion, would represent one of the most significant antitrust penalties for a tech giant in decades.