Google Potentially Forced to Sell Chrome to Competitors
Movieguide® Contributor
The Department of Justice will request a judge to force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser, and Rumble is ready to bite.
“The DOJ will also ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, to require measures related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system,” Reuters reported Nov. 18. “Google controls how people view the internet and what ads they see in part through its Chrome browser, which typically uses Google search, gathers information important to Google’s ad business, and is estimated to have about two-thirds of the global browser market.”
The Verge reported Nov. 19, “Rumble, the YouTube rival popular with the right for its anti-‘cancel culture’ approach, is ‘very interested in acquiring Google Chrome.'”
Rumble currently has two antitrust lawsuits ongoing against Google.
Its latest suit “alleges that Google has monopolized the ad tech stack by buying companies up and down the chain, concurrently representing both ad buyers and sellers, while also running the exchange that connects those parties.”
READ MORE: HOW THE DOJ WANTS TO DESTROY GOOGLE’S SEARCH MONOPOLY
Pavloski tweeted, “Hi @google, to save you headaches and years more of court battles — Rumble is very interested in acquiring Google Chrome.”
Google doesn’t seem to be entertaining the idea.
Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of Google Regulatory Affairs, said the DOJ is asking for a “radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.”
“The move would be one of the most aggressive attempts by the Biden administration to curb what it alleges are Big Tech monopolies,” Reuters reported. “Ultimately, however, the re-election of Donald Trump to the presidency could have the greatest impact over the case.”
“Two months before the election, Trump claimed he would prosecute Google for what he perceives as bias against him. But a month later, Trump questioned whether breaking up the company was a good idea,” Reuters said, “The company plans to appeal once U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta makes a final ruling, which he is likely to do by August 2025. Mehta has scheduled a trial on the remedy proposals for April.”
Silicone Republic assessed that “the legal battle could potentially lead to Google experiencing its first major corporate breakup since its inception in 1996.”
Other remedies proposed include putting an end to Google’s exclusive agreements with companies like Apple and divesting parts of its business.
“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…Bloomberg…said,” Reuters reported.
READ MORE: GOOGLE’S LEAKED AI ASSISTANT ‘TAKES OVER’ YOUR COMPUTER
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