Google says government proposals would “harm America’s consumers.”…

The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to promptly and fully divest itself of Chrome, along with any data or other assets required for its continued operation. It is essentially aiming to take the Chrome user base—consisting of some 3.4 billion people—away from Google and hand it to a competitor. The government will vet any potential buyers to ensure the sale does not pose a national security threat. During the term of the judgment, Google would not be allowed to release any new browsers. However, it may continue to contribute to the open source Chromium project.

  • ArbitraryValueEnglish
    521·
    5 hours ago

    Apparently simply being popular is enough to count as a monopoly even when there are multiple other browsers readily available for free? It’s extortion, IMO.

    (I know that the case is more complicated than that, with the integration of Chrome and Google Search being an issue, but I think my point still stands.)

    • Noxy@pawb.socialEnglish
      23·
      5 hours ago

      There are more reasons why Chrome is a monopoly than just Google search being integrated.

      Check out how few other browsers aren’t just chrome in a trenchcoat, for starters.

      • Stovetop@lemmy.worldEnglish
        151·
        5 hours ago

        Hey, there’s plenty! There’s Safari, and Firefox, and Firefox’s 10 radicalized children…

        Joking aside, you’re right. Safari requires a specific kind of device, so if you’re not on an Apple device it’s basically just Chrome or Firefox. Edge is Chromium. Brave is Chromium. Opera is Chromium. Vivaldi is Chromium. It’s Chrome all the way down.

      • ArbitraryValueEnglish
        213·
        5 hours ago

        I don’t see anything anticompetitive in that. Many browsers use Chromium because that’s what users apparently prefer. Look at the history of Firefox’s market share or the market share of the original Edge. Users had those options and rejected them despite the fact that the former had an enormous head start and the latter was bundled with Windows.

        • graff@lemm.eeEnglish
          7·
          4 hours ago

          Many browsers use chromium because it’s cheaper and easier to bundle blink than to roll your own