U.S. Justice Department calls for Google Chrome sale to 'eliminate search monopoly'

Bloomberg News reported on the 18th local time that the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to demand the forced sale of web browser Chrome to resolve Google's monopoly on the online search market.

The sources said senior officials in charge of the Justice Department's antitrust affairs will demand the sale of Chrome as an antitrust measure to a federal court in Washington, D.C., which ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market.

Chrome is Google's web browser, which holds a 61% market share in the U.S. market and is the most used worldwide.

The source said U.S. authorities believe Chrome should be sold, as it is a key route to using Google search engines.

The sale of Chrome allows other companies to enter the search market and promote competition.

In August, federal court judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., ruled that "Google is a monopoly" in connection with the "Google search anti-monopoly lawsuit" filed by the Justice Department, "illegally abusing its market power and restricting competition."

In response, Judge Mehta will come up with a plan to eliminate Google's monopoly in the search market by August next year.

The Justice Department's demand for the sale of Chrome, however, has taken a step back from its initial position that Google should sell Android, its smartphone operating system, the sources said.The Justice Department may also consider selling Chrome if it comes up with measures to create conditions for the search market with

better competition, it added.

At the same time, the Justice Department plans to ask the court to also order action related to Google's artificial intelligence, AI technology and Android operating systems.

It is necessary to use AI to block the strengthening dominance of the search market and separate sales of Google Play mobile app stores and Android operating systems.

It also plans to suggest giving Google permission to use its search data for competitors or other companies and sharing more information with advertisers to give them more control over where ads are displayed.

Bloomberg said the Justice Department's proposal has the potential to reshape the online search market and the burgeoning AI industry.

Reuters, however, predicted that former President Donald Trump's election in the U.S. presidential election could have the biggest impact on the case.

Two months before the presidential election, former President Trump said he would prosecute Google for being biased, but a month later questioned whether Google's dismantling was a good idea, the news agency reported.

Google plans to appeal if Judge Mehta makes a final ruling by August next year, and the court battle is expected to continue for years.