As of October 2024, Google’s Chrome has about two-thirds of the world’s browser market share, according to StatCounter.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to push Google into selling off its Chrome service, Bloomberg reports.
In addition, the department is reportedly recommending that Google face antitrust requirements related to its Android mobile operating system, as well as AI, according to people familiar with the plans.
If successful, the legal battle could potentially lead to Google experiencing its first major corporate breakup since its inception in 1996.
The news comes after the DOJ accused the tech giant of having a web search monopoly in the US earlier this year.
After winning the case back in August, the DOJ said it would consider ordering Google to divest from some of its biggest businesses, in order to address the company’s illegal monopoly on internet browsing.
As of October 2024, Google’s Chrome has about two-thirds of the world’s browser market share, according to StatCounter.
Google’s VP of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, has criticised the DOJ for allegedly pushing a “radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case”.
Aside from the recent Chrome debacle, Google has experienced a litany of legal issues over the past year when it comes to its alleged anticompetitive and antitrust practices.
Back in May of this year, video-sharing platform and cloud services provider Rumble sued Google for alleged anticompetitive practices.
Then, in August, review platform Yelp took Google to court, claiming that the company manipulates results to promote its own local search offerings, and that it had degraded the quality of search results in the process.
In September, Google lost its appeal against a €2.4bn fine imposed on it by the European Union – seven years after it was first issued – for abusing its dominant position in several national online search markets.
However, the search giant did enjoy a victory earlier this month after a federal judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that the company knowingly allowed fraudulently obtained Google Play gift cards to be redeemed, and keeping millions in “stolen” money from victims.
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