An essential open source project for the web, serving as the basis for many browsers, Chromium joins the Linux Foundation to guarantee its development in a “neutral space”.
The Linux Foundation announced, via a press release, the launch of an initiative called « Supporters of Chromium-based Browsers » (Supporters of Chromium-based browsers). The foundation thus supports the development of Chromium, an open source browser and system launched alongside Chrome in 2008. This project, while marking a “empowerment of the open source community”could also serve Google's interests in the face of future legal challenges for the company.
Gathered around open source
Although the name Chromium may seem unfamiliar, it is nevertheless the basis of many browsers such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Arc.
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By joining the Linux Foundation through this initiative, Google opens support for his project to other technology companies such as Meta, Microsoft and Opera. These companies will commit technically and financially to the project within“a neutral space”. If this initiative represents good news for the open source ecosystem by strengthening development and innovation around Chromium, manufacturers also benefit from it by easily benefiting from the contributions of other members of the community. Google, for its part, specifies that it will remain actively involved in the project. In 2024, Chromium represented 94% of Google's contributions, with 100,000 contributions to the project.
In terms of governance, the Linux Foundation announces the creation of a technical advisory committee (TAC) responsible for helping to develop the initiative and ensuring that it “meets the needs of the broader Chromium community”. It specifies that current projects under Chromium will remain under their initial governance, while new projects will join the initiative within the Linux Foundation.
A decision far from disinterested
This approach comes in a particular context for Google. The company was recently found to have a “monopoly” in the United States, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) ruling that it needed to divest itself from Chrome or Android to restore fair competition. In partially separating of Chromium, Google could seek to demonstrate its good faith to preserve its other services.
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It remains to be seen whether this gesture will be significant enough to meet the DOJ's requirements.
