According to reports, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/chrome/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chrome browser</a>, a subsidiary of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google</a>, could sell for $20 billion if the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/" rel="noreferrer noopener">US Department of Justice</a> (DoJ) agrees to a file suit on its sale. The case, if granted, will go down as a downfall for Google, one of the world’s biggest tech companies. 
Following claims that Google illegally monopolized its search engine market, a judge of the DoJ, Amit Mehta will also require the implementation of a measure related to its artificial intelligence and Android smartphone operating system. 
Originally, the case was filed under the first Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden. 
The continued suit filed in August against the tech giant claimed that the Chrome web browser had been a key for Google’s ads business. It also claimed that the company is able to see activity from signed-in users and use that data to more effectively target promotions, which generate the bulk of its revenue. 
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full">
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="564" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Top-Google-searches-in-2022.png" alt="Google Searches: Peter Obi, INEC, tops trending searches by Nigerians in the Q1 of 2023" class="wp-image-170337">
</figure> 
Google has been monopolizing the use of Chrome to direct users to its flagship AI product, <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini</a>, which has the potential to evolve from an answer-bot to an assistant that follows users around the web. 
Antitrust officials, who have joined the case have recommended to Judge Mehta to also include the imposition of data licensing requirements. This will bring about a reshaping of the online search market and the AI industry burgeoning. 
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh, Chrome had been estimated to be worth “at least $15-$20 billion, given it has over 3 billion monthly active users.” 
Also, Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research stressed that potential buyers must have a plan to link Chrome to other services highlighting that “It’s not directly monetizable.” 
“It serves as a gateway to other things. It’s not clear how you measure that from a pure revenue-generating perspective,” he said. 
<h4 id="googles-monopoly-of-chrome" class="wp-block-heading">Google’s monopoly of Chrome</h4> 
Majorly, antitrust enforcers have been leading the push to make the company sell off Chrome following claims that the company has been using the web browser to monitor and access user’s gateways. 
However, the US government still has the option to decide whether a Chrome sale is necessary at a later date. Government attorneys met with dozens of companies over the past three months as they prepared the recommendation. 
According to StatCounter, a web traffic analytics service, the Chrome browser controls about 61% of the market in the US.&nbsp; 
Reacting to the development, Google said in a blog post that if other companies owned Chrome, they wouldn’t have the initiative to invest as heavily in it or keep it free. “Breaking up these companies is not going to fundamentally address the annoyance you have with them.”&nbsp; 
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full">
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="684" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1715798890650.jpeg" alt="Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs " class="wp-image-240080">
 <figcaption class="wp-element-caption">
 Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs 
 </figcaption>
</figure> 
Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said the Justice Department “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.” 
“The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” she added. 
This will mark the most aggressive effort to weaken a technology company since Washington unsuccessfully sought to break up <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a> about 20 years ago. 
<h4 id="possible-recommendations" class="wp-block-heading">Possible Recommendations</h4> 
Federal Judge Mehta’s August ruling that Google broke antitrust laws in both online search and search text ads markets. It also came as a development to last year’s 10-week trial. The company has said it plans to appeal.&nbsp; 
Sources had it that the agency and the states have settled on recommending that Google be required to license the results and data from its search engine. It will also ask the company to prevent its content from being used by Google’s artificial intelligence products. 
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full">
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="850" height="565" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law.jpg" alt="These Four Startups are Disrupting the Legal services in Nigeria" class="wp-image-8000" srcset="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law.jpg 850w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-300x199.jpg 300w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-768x510.jpg 768w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-380x253.jpg 380w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-550x366.jpg 550w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-800x532.jpg 800w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-760x505.jpg 760w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-600x399.jpg 600w, https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/computer_law-640x425.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px">
</figure> 
Likewise, the antitrust enforcers are set to propose that Google differentiate its Android smartphone OS from its other features. This will see the separation of Google from products such as search and its Google Play mobile app store. 
They are also prepared to seek a requirement that Google share more information with advertisers and give them more control over where their ads appear. 
It was reported that Lawyers from the DOJ and state attorneys general included those recommendations in an initial filing in October. It also included a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of the case against Google.&nbsp; 
Also Read: <a target="_blank" href="https://technext24.com/2024/11/18/phone-google-ai-protect-users-africa/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phone theft: Google introduces AI features to protect Android users in Africa</a>

Google may be forced to sell Chrome for up to $20 billion

Technext.ng

Other articles published on Nov 20, 2024

Top Trader Forecasts XYZVerse to Reach $20, Surpassing Dogecoin and XRP With 16,900% Gains!

Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Expands its Bitcoin Reserves to 331,000 With Latest Acquisition

SEC delays Franklin Templeton crypto index ETF decision

DWF Labs Awards $500,000 Grant to Cat-Welfare Blockchain Project $BARSIK

Forecasting Bitcoin To Hit $100K Before Moonvember Ends

DOGEN set for leap from $0.0008 to $30 as DOGE aims for $1, PEPE targets $0.01

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!