Haven’t heard about the DOJ court’s antitrust ruling? Google it. Following the decision of the US Department of Justice to identify Google as a monopolist in search and advertising, there have been proposed solutions, including forcing Google to sell Chrome — a crucial part of the Google ecosystem that is used by over 3 bn people. We know what that means for Google, but what does that mean for its users?

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Recap: Google’s position in the world of search engines is being threatened for purposefully stifling potential competition, using tactics like paying bns to Apple and Samsung to remain the default search engine on their products. Competitors are looking for a chance to defy the “monopoly-funded” grip that Google has on its partners and its users and promote healthier competition in the field.

Severing the Google ecosystem would give users freedom to choose amongst the search engines. This would appear similar to how cookie consent pop-ups look, where users would be prompted to make choices based on their preferences, but are able to stick to the default — fostering more competition. However, Google warns that this could cause disruptions to user experience, despite the fact that users are likely to still choose to use Google for familiarity, according to The New Yorker.

But it could also interrupt your workflow. “This could be the industry’s next Y2K,” technology analyst Carmi Levy told Global News. “So many workflows, so many apps, so many services rely on Chrome as a foundation.” The concern being echoed by many experts is that potential buyers won’t have pockets deep enough to maintain Chrome as a global resource, which might “force the entire industry [to] pivot.” Levy predicts that Microsoft may be an interested buyer, and, in his opinion, the best fit for the mantle.

No need to panic yet. “In the short term, nothing changes,” said Levy. The buyer’s ability to fund Chrome as well as what their data privacy policy is — though we can’t imagine it being worse than Google’s — would be the two main issues to keep an eye on, says the analyst. It may be a while before Chrome changes hands, but it may be time to explore different browsers.

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