Google could be forced to sell Chrome
Chrome has been Google’s browser product for more than a decade. But it looks like Google’s ownership of Chrome could be coming to an end. This is according to a ruling by the US Department of Justice who say that Google must sell Chrome in order to restore competition to the search space.
There is without a doubt that Chrome is one of the most popular and most used browsers in the world. The latest figures from StatCounter suggests that Chrome accounts for 66.68% of the browser market share around the world. Combined with the fact that Google is the default search engine on Chrome, Google is definitely funneling a lot of users to its website and services.
The DoJ’s request for Google to sell of Chrome is just one of several proposals the government agency is making of the company. Other remedies include potentially prohibiting Google from paying third-parties money or offering some kind of value to make Google Search the default. This brings to mind Google’s deal with Apple where they reportedly paid the Cupertino company billions to make Google the default search in Safari.
At the moment it seems that Android is still safe. There is no requirement for Google to spin-out Android, but the government says that it could be an option in the future if these remedies do not prove effective.