Google could be forced to spin-off Android and Chrome into their own companies
According to a recent ruling by the US Department of Juice, they found that Google basically has a monopoly on search. But what will they do about it? According to reports from Bloomberg and the New York Times, the DOJ are considering several options, one of which is forcing Google to spin-off products like Android and/or Chrome into their own companies.
This means that instead of being under a single umbrella, Google, Android and/or Chrome could exist as their own companies. As to why these two products are being targeted, it is because it is believed that they contribute to Google’s search dominance. We can’t say we’re surprised.
The default search engine on Chrome is Google, and even on Android when you search it typically relies on Google Search as well. This is kind of an extreme proposal and we can imagine the impact this could have on Google as a company. However, it has been suggested that another less extreme and more likely option would be to ban “exclusive contracts” that set a default search engine.
Presumably this could apply to current deals that Google has with other companies, such as Apple. Google is reported to be paying Apple billions of dollars a year, as much as $20 million, to remain the default search engine on Safari.