US prosecutors want Google must sell Chrome to end monopoly

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday argued to a judge that Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data, and search results with rivals, and take a range of other measures to end its monopoly on online search.It's also asked the District of Colombia judge to rule that if Google continues with monopolistic misconduct, it could also lose its Android mobile phone operating system as well. Chrome browser is used by around 3.5 billion people globally.Google controls about 90% of the online search market.
The proposals are wide-ranging, including barring Google from re-entering the browser market for five years and insisting Google sell its Android mobile operating system if other remedies fail to restore competition.Google's ownership of Chrome and the Android operating system poses a significant challenge to entrants and competitors, as they are the "key methods" for the distribution of search engines to consumers, it argued. The Prosecutor also demand that Google should be prohibited from making payments to third parties to make Google the default general search engine in their products, including ending exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple.“Google’s unlawful behaviour has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways,” the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a court filing.
The DoJ and a coalition of states want US district judge Amit Mehta to end exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device vendors to make its search engine the default on their tablets and smartphones. Google will have a chance to present its own proposals in December.Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April.