The United States Government has proposed forcing Google to sell off its Chrome web browser as part of measures to break up a monopoly a judge has said the company currently operates in online searches.
According to court papers filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the proposals call for Google to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser, and impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphones software from favouring Google’s own search engine
The proposals also call for Google to be banned from signing multibillion-pound deals with smartphone makers such as Apple to make Google Search the default search engine on those companies’ devices, including the iPhone, and to force Google to share data it collects from its search engine with its rivals in an effort to boost competition in the sector.
Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, Kent Walker, called the proposals “staggering” and “extreme”, warning they would “break” many of Google’s products and endanger the security and privacy of US users as a result.