Report: DOJ to Seek Breakup of Google's Chrome Browser in Antitrust Lawsuit

The DOJ has decided it will ask a federal judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome web browser as a result of the government’s successful antitrust case against the internet giant’s monopolistic actions in its search business according to a new report by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reports that top antitrust officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have determined they will seek to compel Google to divest its popular Chrome web browser. The move comes as part of the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google, in which a federal judge ruled in August that the tech giant illegally monopolized the online search market.

Bloomberg claims that according people familiar with the DOJ’s plans, antitrust enforcers will also recommend that the judge impose additional measures related to Google’s AI products and Android smartphone operating system. This could include forcing Google to license search data and results to competitors, give websites more ability to prevent their content from being used by Google’s AI, and decoupling Android from Google’s other services like search and the Play Store.

Owning the dominant Chrome browser is seen as crucial to Google’s advertising business, which generates the bulk of the search giant’s revenue. Chrome provides Google visibility into user activity when logged in, allowing more effective ad targeting. The browser has also become a key funnel directing users to Google’s AI products like Gemini.

If the presiding judge, Amit Mehta, accepts the DOJ’s proposals, it could dramatically reshape the online search and emerging AI industries. The antitrust case against Google, originally filed during the Trump administration, represents the most aggressive attempt to rein in Big Tech since the government tried and failed to break up Microsoft in the early 2000s.

In a statement, a Google spokesperson said the DOJ is pushing a “radical agenda” that would harm consumers, developers and U.S. tech leadership. Google plans to appeal the August ruling that it violated antitrust laws.

The DOJ pulled back from an even more drastic option of forcing a sale of Google’s Android mobile operating system. But officials still want Android untied from Google’s other products that come bundled with it. They are also seeking to give advertisers more transparency and control over ad placement.

Any forced divestiture of Chrome would depend on finding a buyer for the browser, which commands over 60 percent market share in the U.S. Potential acquirers like Amazon are facing their own antitrust scrutiny that could preclude such a deal. One analyst suggested OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, as a possible buyer interested in both Chrome’s distribution and ad business.

The DOJ’s proposed remedies aim to introduce more competition and innovation into online search, which Google dominates. Rival search engines and AI startups could potentially use mandated access to Google’s search index, data and syndicated results to improve their own offerings and viability.