What to know
- US Justice Department plans to ask a judge to order Google to sell Chrome browser in an antitrust action.
- Officials want to separate Android operating system from Google’s other products.
- The proposal includes new rules for AI and data licensing, with final ruling expected by August 2025.
US antitrust officials have planned to take on Google’s digital empire. The Justice Department plans to ask Judge Amit Mehta to order Google to sell its Chrome browser, which currently serves 61% of US users, according to Bloomberg.
The officials also aim to split Android from Google’s other products. While they won’t demand a complete Android sale, they want to separate it from Google search and the Play store, which Google currently sells together.
Google has responded strongly to these plans. Lee-Anne Mulholland from Google says these actions could hurt users, developers, and America’s tech leadership.
Chrome plays a key role in Google’s business. The browser helps Google track user activity and improve its advertising. It also connects users to Google’s AI product, Gemini.
The Justice Department will present its recommendations on Wednesday. They want Google to share its search results and data, and let websites decide how Google’s AI uses their content. Judge Mehta will review these proposals in April, with a final decision coming by August 2025.
This marks the biggest action against a tech company since the Microsoft case twenty years ago. Google’s stock value dropped 1.8% after this news broke. The company plans to challenge the August ruling that found it controlled too much of the online search and advertising markets.
