🔍All eyes are on Chrome, Google’s flagship browser, amidst court rulings that accuse the Alphabet subsidiary of illegally monopolizing the search market. In its ongoing antitrust case, Google finds itself in a targeted campaign to weaken its hold on the market through various bids coming in to buy Chrome, with a notable offer from AI search engine Perplexity at USD 34.5 bn — twice its own valuation.

Need a refresher? Making up a staggering 90% of the internet’s searches, Google has long been the default search engine for most mobile devices and computers. A case filed by the US Department of Justice in 2020 demanded the tech giant restore competition in the search market and put an end to their anticompetitive practices. Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling in 2024 that Google has in fact participated in illegal practices to maintain a monopoly was a major victory to its competitors and platforms looking to expand in the digital market. The judge’s proposed remedy ? Google be forced to divest Chrome.

Beyond Chrome, Google is also facing resistance regarding being the default search engine for Apple’s Safari and on Android’s devices. After revealing that Google was paying for preferential access to its search engine, the judge demanded that Google ban payments for default status on any web browsers. Google’s immense possession of user and search data is also a big point of contention among competitors, prompting the judge to demand it to share that data.

What’s Google’s stance? While Google denies the monopolistic allegations, it has proposed its own remedies to accommodate its competitors. However, the prospect of selling Chrome seems to be, unsurprisingly, a no-go for the search giant. According to Fortune, Chrome General Manager Parisa Tabriz claims that the “17 years of collaboration” between the two entities would be impossible to “disentangle,” given the enormous amount of money that Google has invested into the project.

Selling Chrome would be opening a can of privacy worms: The search giant had emphasized that such a move would only benefit competitors at the expense of existing consumers. The Alphabet subsidiary highlighted the risk of widespread privacy and security breaches if they follow through with demands to share their data, keeping in mind the browser’s 3.5 bn global users. Ultimately, as Tabriz claims, the browser in anyone else’s hands is likely to become “insecure and obsolete.” Google cybersecurity chief Heather Adkins had testified that severing Chrome from Google would “expose bns of people to cyber-attacks.”

Competitors make their bids. Making headlines with its large bid for Chrome, Perplexity’s offer intends to meet Google halfway. The AI startup says it would keep Google the default search engine, with the option to change it if a user wants to, according to Business Insider. Additionally, it would keep supporting Google’s open source project Chromium, the foundation for Chrome. AI chat platform Search.com, under Ad.com’s Public Good, made a similar offer at USD 35 bn with plans to give users unpaid access to its AI search engine. While OpenAI has not made a bid, its CEO Sam Altman has expressed interest in acquiring the browser. Direct rival Yahoo also showed similar interest in Google’s Chrome.

Will the Alphabet subsidiary give in and give up Chrome? It seems we’re due for an answer soon.

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