Top Justice Department antitrust officials in the US have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the biggest tech companies in the world, reported Bloomberg.
The department will ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolised the search market, to require measures related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.
Antitrust officials, along with states that have joined the case, also plan to recommend Wednesday that federal judge Amit Mehta impose data licensing requirements, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter.
Also Read: JioHotstar domain dispute: Dubai-based siblings to transfer it to Reliance ‘free of cost’ as an act of ‘Seva’
Chrome is in focus here because it is one of the most popular web browsers (61% market share in the US) and is key for Google’s ad business. Google can see activity from signed-in users which it uses for targeted promotions to generate revenue.
Apart from this, Google also uses Chrome to direct users to Gemini, its flagship AI product. Google’s “AI Overviews” on the other hand, caused website publishers to complain that it dampens traffic as well as advertising dollars as users rarely click through to see the original source data.
The case was filed under the first Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden.
The antitrust officials plan to recommend Mehta to impose data licensing requirements as well.
Also Read: 21-year-old, one of India’s richest, burning cash to win the quick-commerce race
If Mehta accepts the proposal, it would reshape the online search market as well as the burgeoning AI industry. This is also the most aggressive effort to rein in on a tech company since the unsuccessful attempt to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
The antitrust officials actually pulled back from a more severe option to forced Google to sell off Android.
The report quoted Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, as saying that the Justice Department “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.”
“The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” she added.
Also Read: Amazon India to move Bengaluru headquarters to cut costs, employees unhappy: Report
