Things aren’t going well for Google lately. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is pushing for major changes to curb its dominance, reports Bloomberg. After a ruling in August 2024 that found Google guilty of running an illegal search monopoly, the DOJ now wants Google to sell off its Chrome browser and separate Android from its search engine and Play Store.
DOJ seemingly wants to break Google and Chrome may take the bullet
Chrome is by far the most popular browser, with a 66% market share, according to Statcounter, followed by Safari, Edge, and others. In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google is running an illegal search monopoly, controlling nearly 90% of global search traffic.
The DOJ claims Google uses Chrome to direct users to its search engine and ads, shutting out competitors and limiting consumer choice. This is why Google has been under scrutiny lately. But there’s more: the govt also plans to force Google to end its exclusive deals with Apple, where Google pays billions to remain the default search engine on iPhone, iPad, and more.
It’s widely believed that Google’s fat cheques to Apple have helped prevent Apple from launching its own search engine. Whether Apple will eventually move into the search market remains to be seen, but it certainly has the resources to do so.
What Google has to say
Meanwhile, Google is pushing back to defend its dominance in the search market. The company argues that forcing it to sell Chrome or separate its products would harm both consumers and the tech industry.
Google’s VP of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, called the DOJ’s approach an “overreach” arguing that separating Chrome from its search engine would make the browser less secure. She also claimed it would hurt competition with Apple’s iPhone and App Store, which Google sees as its main rival in the mobile space.
As Google points out — and I agree — it has faced increasing competition recently. With products like Perplexity and OpenAI entering the market, Google’s search engine business may already be seeing a decline. In fact, Gartner predicts a 25% drop in traditional search engine traffic as AI chatbots gain ground. While Gartner doesn’t specifically mention any company, it’s not a secret what it may be pointing at.
