Can you imagine a Google without Chrome… The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is pushing for Google to break up, sell its web browsing business around Chrome and separate it from its search service, Search.
Bloomberg tells it in an article that is going around the world taking into account its relevance since if it ends up materializing it could completely change the current technological landscape and it would open the door to undertaking other types of monopolies that abound in this industry. What will happen to Microsoft and Windows? And Apple with iOS and the App Store? And the same Google with Android and Play Store? And retail giants like Amazon?
¿Google sin Chrome?
The idea suggested by the DOJ would come in response to last summer’s court ruling where Google was convicted of monopoly, for use your dominant position in Internet searches to relegate the competition. The DOJ argues that the Chrome browser plays a significant role in increasing the number of Google Search users by establishing it as the default search engine, which would effectively block competition.
It is not the first time that Google has faced accusations and convictions for violating antitrust laws. For years, critics have pointed out how Google (like others like Microsoft) bundles its services, such as Android and the Play Store, to ensure its products remain dominant. The current strategy of the Department of Justice of demand divestments (such as the division of Chrome or Android) shows a firmer stance compared to previous cases, in which only fines or behavioral changes were applied.
Google argues that such a split would harm consumers by disrupting integration between its services, threatening security features and slowing innovation. It would also reduce the company’s income and profits by a good amount. And it would also have effects on Chrome OS and other company software.
There is no doubt that a Google without Chrome could mean a big change both for the world of technology and for the way we experience the Internet. Web browsers are one of the most used and important types of software in the world. They are not only used for browsing, but are what drive the search market and with it the immense advertising pie on the Internet, as well as e-commerce purchases. Furthermore, Google is not just anyone on the Web. Chrome largely dominates the global market share (70%) and is also key in the development of browsers due to its open source project, Chromium.
The case has just begun, it is being prosecuted and there is still a long way to go before a Google without Chrome is realized, but the pressure from the DOJ is there. This movement can have a domino effect on other companies that operate in a similar way and have services that monopolize their specific sector. What are we going to tell you about Microsoft’s strategy with Windows or Apple with its mobile application store. Not to mention Google itself with Android. There are many cases and very similar.
As for forcing a company to break up, it wouldn’t be the first time or the last. Sometimes it has been achieved and other times it has not. Let us remember that the DOJ tried at the end of the last century to get Microsoft to separate Windows from the rest of its software offering in response to what is clearly a take advantage of the operating system monopoly. Much earlier, in 1982, the great example of divided technology was the case of the spin-off of AT&T Corp (a true supermonopoly) that ended up dividing into seven new independent companies that became known as Baby Bells.
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