🔍 Google is off the hook — its antitrust lawsuit ruling decrees that the tech giant does not have to sell its Chrome browser. But it’s not all good news. According to Business Insider, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that while the Alphabet company gets to keep its browser, Google can not strike any more exclusive deals that prioritize its search engine and AI products. Despite the judge officially declaring Google a monopoly in the industry after finding it to have violated antitrust laws, Mehta ultimately determined that selling off Chrome would do more harm than good.

Refresher: In a 2024 ruling that concluded a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice in 2020, Judge Mehta found Google guilty of illegally engaging in monopolistic practices. To lessen its hold on the online search market and restore competition, the DOJ proposed that Google sell off Chrome among other assets. Google has paid hefty sums to remain the default search engine on Apple’s browser Safari and on Android devices for years now, sustaining a USD 2 tn search monopoly.

Selling Chrome will not remedy the search giant’s monopoly. In the ruling, Mehta stated that Google’s ownership of Chrome was not the direct cause of the monopoly — Search’s default status on the browser was. Given Google’s substantial investment in the browser and its 3 bn monthly active users, cutting off Chrome would be “incredibly messy,” and greatly harm Google’s distribution partners and connections in the market. Apple and Firefox warned they would especially suffer if the judge prevented Google from paying to be their browsers’ default search engine.

Most significantly, the proposal that Google divest Chrome poses a high risk for its user privacy worldwide. Handing over Chrome to other competitors could mean less protection for user search queries. A new home for Chrome means that its treasure grove of data could be more susceptible to hacking from competitors if the new proprietors can’t provide the same security measures at Alphabet’s disposal. Or the new owner could take a page out of Google’s book and simply exploit the data themselves.

The devil you know: Google has been embroiled in multiple accusations of snooping on user browser history, most infamously through reCAPTCHAs. The company has been found to assume permission to track users at all times — even if you’re using Chrome’s Incognito mode — for advertising purposes. Just last month, the tech giant agreed to pay USD 30 mn to settle a lawsuit waged against them for using YouTube to collect children’s information without parental consent to use for targeted ads, as reported by Reuters. 77% of Google’s revenue comes from its ad business.

How can Google compromise (if ever)? According to the Verge, the judge has ordered Google to share its search index and user-interaction data with rivals in order to encourage healthy and equitable competition. However, this could take years to implement, and could be repealed considering that the search titan can now challenge the judge’s ruling.

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