Google has stated that forcing them to sell Chrome, the most popular web browser in the world, would hurt both businesses and consumers.
According to Bloomberg, the measure will be presented before a judge by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday.
After ruling in August that Google has a monopoly in online searches, Judge Amit Mehta has been debating possible remedies or sanctions.
Google has stated that it opposes the proposal, but the DOJ has not responded to the claim.
In a statement, Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland stated, “The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.”
According to reports, Google will also be requested to set up new policies regarding its use of data, Android operating system, and artificial intelligence.
Ms. Mulholland went on to say, “The government’s thumb on the scale in these ways would harm developers, consumers, and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
According to web traffic tracker Similarweb, Chrome has the most global market share, at 64.61% as of October.
According to Statcounter, as of October, Google Search held a nearly 90% market share for search engines worldwide.
Chrome and a number of smartphone browsers, notably Safari on iPhones, use it by default.
The default search engine was “extremely valuable real estate” for Google, according to Judge Mehta’s August order.
“Even if a new entrant were positioned from a quality standpoint to bid for the default when an agreement expires, such a firm could compete only if it were prepared to pay partners upwards of billions of dollars in revenue share,” he stated.
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By Wednesday, the DOJ was supposed to present the court with its final set of suggested remedies.
In an October filing outlining preliminary ideas, it stated that it would be thinking about pursuing a Google split.
In that statement, it listed potential solutions “that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play [its app store], and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products” as one of its objectives.
“Splitting off”
Google has denied having a monopoly in online search in the past.
Google said that “splitting off” portions of its business, such as Chrome or Android, would “break them” in response to the DOJ’s October lawsuit.
“Breaking them off would change their business models, raise the cost of devices, and undermine Android and Google Play in their robust competition with Apple’s iPhone and App Store,” the business stated.
Additionally, it stated that maintaining Chrome’s security will be more difficult.
Google’s most recent quarterly statistics showed a 10% increase in search and advertising revenue to $65.9 billion.
According to CEO Sundar Pichai, millions of people are now using the company’s AI search capabilities.
Due to news of the DOJ’s proposed remedies, investors have been closely monitoring Google’s share price on Tuesday.