The DOJ still wants Google to sell off Chrome (wired.com)

Article summary

The US Department of Justice has proposed that Google sell off its Chrome browser as part of a remedy in an antitrust case, citing the company's dominance in the search market and its restrictive contracts with device makers and browser partners. Google has argued that its success is due to its superior search technology and that consumers can easily change their default search engine. The proposal is part of a larger case that began in 2020, and Google has said it plans to appeal the decision. The case has significant implications for the tech industry and the future of online search and browsing.

Main themes

• Antitrust case
• Google dominance
• Browser market
• Search engine competition
• Tech regulation
• Online privacy

What commenters say

• The proposed remedy of selling off Chrome is a necessary step to promote competition in the browser market and prevent Google's dominance from stifling innovation.
• Google's success is due to its superior search technology, and consumers have the freedom to choose their default search engine, making the proposed remedy unnecessary.
• The complexity of modern browsers and the web makes it impossible for smaller companies to maintain their own standards-compliant browsers, giving Google an unfair advantage.
• Forking Chromium is not a viable solution to counter Google's influence, as the company's engineers are the gatekeepers of the code and can reject any upstream changes.
• The proposed remedy is an overreach of government power and could harm consumers and the tech industry as a whole.
• Google's control over the browser market allows it to shape the direction of the web and impose its own standards, which can be detrimental to other companies and users.
• Alternative browsers, such as Firefox, can provide a viable alternative to Chrome and help promote competition in the market.
• The issue of browser dominance is a symptom of a larger problem of tech giants having too much power and influence, and requires a more comprehensive solution.