The US is officially demanding that Google sell Chrome. Do you still have those escape routes?

It’s already written. The US Department of Justice has officially asked Google to sell Chrome. This is reflected in the latest document in the historic antitrust case the United States is waging against Google. We’ve been talking about this opportunity for months and it has already materialized.

What seemed like a veiled threat and opportunity has now become a direct demand. US Justice lawyers have formally asked Google to sell the Chrome browser after confirming that they have a monopoly.

What exactly are they trying to get Google to do? “To correct this damage, Google must divest Chrome, permanently ending Google’s control of this important search engine and allowing rival search engines to gain access to the browser that many users consider a gateway to the Internet,” the Department of Justice describes.

They also ask Google to address “emerging competitive threats through acquisitions, minority investments or partnerships” within 10 years. What do they mean? Mainly because of agreements like the one Google has with Apple, whereby their search engine is installed by default on the iPhone.

Separating Chrome from Google isn’t easy, but there are ways. Selling Chrome is a radical idea. Not only is the browser the most used in the world, it’s also closely linked to the rest of Google’s services, such as ChromeOS, its laptop operating system, and Gemini, its AI assistant. Selling Chrome would mean Google losing vital access to its services. Mainly for the search engine, Google’s real business.

However, for some time now Google has been working towards separating its products. Or at least reduce your dependence on Chrome. In the case of ChromeOS, the company wants to bring its laptop system directly to Android.

In terms of Chrome itself and search engine access, Google is working to ensure that searches are not done directly from the browser bar and that users start searching through Gemini. The pivot to AI, which, at least in the search space, has so far been a disaster.

Google’s answer. In a statement from Kent Walker, Google’s chief legal officer, the company explains that “the Department of Justice has decided to advance a radical interventionist agenda that will harm Americans and the United States’ global technology leadership.”

They note that a forced sale of Chrome could also have the potential to sell Android. That selling Chrome could harm its innovation in artificial intelligence, where Google plays a major role, and in turn could impact companies like Mozilla that depend on having Google by default (as they get millions of dollars for it) .

Europe has already “solved” the problem in 2020. The main problem is that Google takes advantage of Chrome’s dominance to make its search engine the default. This fact, which in the US led to an antitrust case, in Europe led to a fine of 4.34 billion euros and a change that occurred in 2020.

This is called the “Selection Screen”. An option that appears to all European users when they set up their device, which randomly displays various search engines other than Google, such as DuckDuckGo, Info.com or Qwant.

This is precisely the option proposed by the Ministry of Justice. This is a requirement that Google implement easier ways to change the default search engine for users. While the European Union does this through regulation, in the United States the issue is taken up through the courts. All things considered, the European solution is also not convincing.

The million dollar question is: who can buy Chrome? First, let’s note that most experts think it’s unlikely that Google will end up selling Chrome, just as Microsoft didn’t have to sell Internet Explorer when a similar antitrust case took place more than 25 years ago.

But let’s put ourselves in a situation where a forced sale eventually happens. Who can buy Chrome? We’re talking about Chrome, which is valued at $15-20 billion. An investment available to few companies.

An obvious potential buyer could be OpenAI, which will enter the services and software sectors. Apple has Safari; Samsung would have a hard time justifying such a high price for work in an area so different from its business. Microsoft will have a tough time at the regulatory level. Yes, it could be Meta, although they should be very careful not to force the use of their networks. But without this, it would be difficult to imagine that they would be interested in it. Amazon might, but Chrome’s name is closely tied to one of its competitors. It would probably be easier for a cloud services company like Oracle, which was already present in the TikTok sale.

This is all speculation. It has been confirmed that the Department of Justice is not going to admit that Chrome continues to work as before.

Image | AS Photography

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