chrome bloomberg
Google may be forced to sell its Chrome browser to break its monopoly in the internet market. Photo: Bloomberg

According to Bloomberg , citing sources, antitrust officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have decided to ask Judge Amit Mehta – who ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly in the search market – to order Google to sell its Chrome browser.

Additionally, the department recommended that Judge Mehta impose data licensing requirements. If the judge accepts the proposal, this would be a turning point in reshaping the online search market and the booming AI industry.

It also marks the most aggressive effort by the U.S. government to rein in a tech giant since Washington failed to break up Microsoft two decades ago.

Owning the world's most popular web browser is key to Google's advertising business. The company can track activity from logged-in users and then use that data to market more effectively, generating significant revenue.

Google also uses Chrome to guide users to its AI product, Gemini, and to have it follow them across the web.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of legal affairs, asserted that this would harm consumers, developers, and American technology leadership at a time when it is most needed.

Chrome browser controls approximately 61% of the market in the US, according to web traffic analytics service StatCounter.

Analyst Mandeep Singh believes that if Google were to sell Chrome, it would be difficult to find a potential buyer. Those with the financial resources and desire to own Chrome – such as Amazon – are also facing antitrust allegations.

According to Bloomberg , antitrust officials have withdrawn a more drastic option that could have forced Google to sell Android.

(According to Bloomberg)