The Justice Department wants to put a “For Sale” sign on one of Google’s key assets.
The DOJ has asked the judge in its antitrust case against Google to force the tech giant to sell Chrome, its massively popular browser. Business Insider’s Hugh Langley and Lara O’Reilly have a full rundown on the recommendation and who stands to benefit and lose.
Let’s break it all down:
The government is forcing Google to break up? What in the late 90s Microsoft is going on? Sort of. In August, a judge ruled Google violated antitrust laws and acted as a monopoly when it came to its search engine. Now the DOJ is recommending how it should be punished, and it wants Chrome gone.
So that’s it? Not even close, buddy. Google will have a chance to respond next month with its own plan before the judge makes a ruling next year. Even then, Google will likely fight any decision, delaying the process a few more years.
Ok, but in the meantime, what does the DOJ’s recommendation mean for Google? It’s certainly a blow. Chrome holds a majority of the US browser market share (61%). That makes it a powerful distribution arm for Google since Chrome’s default search engine is … Google. In short, Chrome sends a ton of search data and traffic Google’s way that it can leverage in a number of ways.
So is Google screwed? Not quite. This is still one of the largest and most powerful tech companies in the world. Losing out on three billion monthly Chrome users won’t be painless, but it has other ways to collect data and traffic (Gmail, YouTube, etc.) An adtech executive described losing Chrome to Hugh and Lara as “a manageable inconvenience” for Google.
What about Chrome? That’s a more complicated question. For a sale, Chrome’s valuation is difficult to calculate considering how deeply intertwined it is with Google (a Bloomberg analysis put it at anywhere from $15 billion to $20 billion). And, from a financial perspective, it’s not clear if it could even operate independently.
Is this good news for anybody? Advertisers and search rivals are probably pumped. Many feel they were negatively impacted by Google’s monopoly. There’s already been chatter about a class-action lawsuit from advertisers that could seek more than $100 billion in damages.
How’s the rest of Big Tech feeling? Probably not great. As much as they all compete for customers, none of them want to see more regulation. And Apple was making at least $20 billion a year by defaulting to Google Search.
Wait. Is any of this even going to happen considering the change in administration? It’s the elephant in the room. The original antitrust complaint was filed under then-President Donald Trump. And Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick to run the DOJ, has a history of going after Big Tech. But his confirmation for the role is far from guaranteed, to say the least.
