One of the structural remedies that the US Justice Department will be asking for in the Google search monopoly case is a forced sale of the Chrome browser.
Back in October, we got some ideas of what remedies the Department of Justice might suggest to the judge overseeing the case that found Google had a monopoly over online search. Spinning off Android and/or Chrome was mentioned at the time.
According to Bloomberg today, the DOJ has now finalized its requests to the judge. These recommendations will be made official (and public) Wednesday.
At the top of the list is having Google sell Chrome "because it represents a key access point through which many people use its search engine." There are many questions about how that works, including what the impact on the underlying Chromium codebase would be. Would Google still be allowed to develop the open-source project by which many other browsers, like Microsoft Edge use?
The government has the option to decide whether a Chrome sale is necessary at a later date if some of the other aspects of the remedy create a more competitive market, the people said.
Google, which plans to appeal, previously said that "splitting off Chrome or Android would break them."
Bloomberg reports that "antitrust officials pulled back from a more severe option that would have forced Google to sell off Android." However, the government wants Google to "uncouple its Android smartphone operating system from its other products, including search and its Google Play mobile app store, which are now sold as a bundle."
Meanwhile, other recommendations include licensing Google Search data and results, as well as allowing websites that are indexed for Search to opt out of AI training.
More details will be available this week.
There will be a hearing in April of 2025, with a final ruling expected that August.