Is Google at risk of losing its Chrome browser?

Bloomberg reported on November 18th that US Justice Department officials have submitted a request to a judge to require Google to sell its Chrome browser in order to break its monopoly.

Sources told Bloomberg that antitrust officials at the U.S. Department of Justice will pursue the case and recommend that a judge take a tough stance against Google, a company owned by Alphabet (headquartered in the U.S.).

US officials are reportedly set to submit a request to District Court Judge Amit Mehta on November 20th, demanding that Google sell its Google Chrome browser. Observers believe this move aims to break Chrome's monopoly, as global users largely rely on this browser to access Google Search, allowing Google to collect vast amounts of data and reducing competition from other companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice is taking legal action against Google.

According to StatCounter, an organization specializing in website traffic analysis, Chrome accounts for approximately 61% of the browser market used in the US, while AFP, citing a 2020 report, indicated that Google held about 90% of the search engine market in the US.

In August, Judge Mehta ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws in the areas of online search and search-based advertising. Additionally, the judge considered agreements Google had signed with other developers that allowed Google Search to become the default search engine on competing browsers.

US officials argue that Google needs to share more search results with its advertising partners, giving them more autonomy instead of using its dominant position to impose its will. Google says it will appeal Judge Mehta's August ruling.

Google's vice president of legal affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said the U.S. Department of Justice had taken actions that went beyond the legal framework, emphasizing that such government interference would harm users and technology developers. The Department of Justice has not yet commented on the matter.

Recently, Google also introduced its "AI Overviews" feature, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to filter and provide basic information about content users search for on Google Search, instead of requiring each user to access individual websites. While this offers convenience to the user experience, website owners have complained that Google's AI will negatively impact their website traffic and advertising revenue.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/google-co-nguy-co-mat-trinh-duyet-chrome-185241119112157822.htm