The world's most popular browser 'Chrome' is no longer under Google's control. Google will have to sell Chrome under pressure from the US Department of Justice.
For several years, Google has been accused of monopolizing all content and advertising on the Internet through various services. After the matter was proven in court, the US Department of Justice's roadmap for redress clearly states that Google must sell the Chrome browser business. In the future, Google may be forced to turn Android into an independent business along with Chrome.
Among all the other browsers, except for Apple's Safari and Mozilla Firefox, all other companies are using Chrome's source code to create their browsers. Chrome and browsers built from Chrome code, Google is provided as the default search service. Other Google services, such as YouTube, Gmail or Docs, do not work well without Chrome or Chrome-based browsers. Google is constantly increasing its dominance by exploiting Chrome's strong position, the DOJ ruled.
If Chrome is sold to another company or becomes a separate independent company, Google will no longer have a strong monopoly.
Google will be able to appeal the initial ruling next year, objecting to it. In addition to selling Chrome, the court ruling also addresses several issues, such as sharing Google search data with AdSense and changing the Internet search ranking algorithm. However, DOJ spokespeople said that they will remain steadfast in their decision to sell Chrome even after the appeal.
Android will be an independent business
Several DOJ judges believe that the Android operating system should also be taken out of Google's clutches for the same reason. Today, Android is the most popular operating system in the world. Android, and Google, has a market many times larger than Windows, Mac, Linux or iOS. Google's services are installed on every device.
Google Play for apps, Gmail for email, Google Cloud for device data storage, and Chrome for browsing are ready for users as soon as the device is turned on, and they don't stop using them later.
The DOJ sees this as a tool for a large monopoly. If Google is not forced to sell the Android operating system, it may be banned from providing Google Play, Chrome, Gmail, and YouTube built-in.
Roadmap coming
The roadmap for Google also says that they will not be able to give financial incentives to other companies to use Google search or not to use search engines other than Google. From now on, they will have to provide ways to use other search services in addition to Google search in other Google services, such as using DuckDuckGo to search for videos on YouTube. In addition, some confidential information about Google search, such as the search index, ranking signals, and others, will have to be made public.
The DOJ will submit a full version of its roadmap in March next year. Google will be able to appeal it in April if it wants. It can be assumed that Chrome and Android will remain in Google's hands for at least another year, and that may change in the future.