DOJ Will Ask Judge to Force Google to Sell Chrome and De-Google Android

Leah Nylen and Josh Sisco, reporting for Bloomberg:

Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the biggest tech companies in the world. [...]

The antitrust officials pulled back from a more severe option that would have forced Google to sell off Android, the people said. [...] The antitrust enforcers are set to propose that Google uncouple its Android smartphone operating system from its other products, including search and its Google Play mobile app store, which are now sold as a bundle, the people said. 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’s hard to say from Bloomberg’s second-hand reporting — from people familiar with the matter — what exactly the DOJ is specifically going to ask for. But based on this report, I have to say, neither of these proposals makes much sense.

With Chrome, effectively what the DOJ is saying is that Google, as the monopoly search engine, should be disallowed from making its own web browser (which itself holds a monopoly share on web browsing — which share would be overwhelming if not for Safari). But Chrome, in and of itself, isn’t very valuable to anyone other than Google itself. The value Chrome holds to Google is inextricably tied to Chrome’s default integration with Google search and other Google web apps.

If Google were forced to sell Chrome, who’d make the default web browser for Android? Android can’t ship without a default browser. And the DOJ wants Google to “uncouple” Android from the Google Play store? Allowing Google to keep Android but not make its own web browser or app store is just nonsense. It might make some measure of sense to declare that Google has to sell the desktop version of Chrome — the apps for Windows and Mac — but then what happens to ChromeOS, which is not a monopoly, but is a significant competitor to Windows, MacOS, and iPadOS?

Chrome is not a standalone business. Android is not a standalone business. They’re both just appendages of Google that serve only as distribution channels for the advertising Google shows in search results, and the money it makes from advertising and game commissions in the Play Store. It’s like saying I have to sell my left foot. It’s very valuable to me, but of no value to anyone on its own. (Well, other than spite.)

See Also: Techmeme’s roundup.

★ Monday, 18 November 2024