Google should be forced to sell Chrome browser, Justice Department says

Google would also be forbidden from paying to be the default search engine on any browser

- Dave Michaels

The Justice Department on Wednesday said Google should have to sell off its popular Chrome browser as part of a court-ordered fix to its monopolization of the online search market.

The request follows the government's victory this year in an antitrust case against Google and is likely to kick off a heightened legal fight with wide-reaching implications for the tech giant's core business.

Government lawyers said competition can only be restored if Google separates its search engine from products it has built to access the internet, such as Chrome and its Android mobile operating system. Chrome controls about two-thirds ofthe global browser market, according to the website Statcounter. Searches in the Chrome address bar go through Google unless a user changes the settings.

The Justice Department also requested that Google be prevented from giving preferential access to its search engine on devices that use its Android mobile operating system. If Google violated that rule in the future, it would have to divest Android as well under the government's proposal.

Android runs on billions of smartphones from manufacturers such as Samsung, along with Google's own Pixel devices. Google would also be forbidden from paying to be the default search engine on any browser, including Chrome under its new owner. Google currently pays Apple tens of billions of dollars a year to be the default on its Safari browser.

"The remedy must enable and encourage the development of an unfettered search ecosystem that induces entry, competition and innovation as rivals vie to win the business of consumers and advertisers," the department and over two dozen state plaintiffs wrote.