The U.S. Department of Justice to demand Google sell its Chrome browser

Storm in the search engine arena: The U.S. Department of Justice is planning to order "Alphabet," Google's parent company, to sell its Chrome browser – according to a report by Bloomberg. Such a move would shake Google's dominance in the search engine and online advertising markets, which has made it one of the largest tech companies in the world.

The lawsuit was filed under the Trump administration and has continued under the current Biden administration. The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to file the official draft of its penalty request against Google this coming Wednesday. A final ruling is expected by August 2025.

According to the report, the department plans to approach a federal judge, who ruled last August that Google has established itself as an illegal monopoly in the browser and search engine markets, and ask him to take measures related to both its artificial intelligence developments and its Android operating system. The department is also expected to recommend that the federal judge impose data licensing requirements.

If the recommendations are accepted, they could change the internet search market and the growing artificial intelligence industry. Owning Chrome, the most popular browser in the world, is crucial to Google's advertising business. The company can track the activities of users who are logged into their Google accounts and use this data to target ads more effectively, which generates the majority of its revenue.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, told Bloomberg that the Department of Justice "continues to push a radical agenda that is outside its scope – even in this case. Such government intervention would harm consumers, developers, and America's technological leadership at exactly the moment it is most needed."