The Department of Justice has called for Google to sell its popular Chrome web browser.
This decision to force Google to sell Chrome will significantly impact the future of the web.https://t.co/lGwLu4EgrT
— Tariq KRIM (@tariqkrim) November 21, 2024
This is one of several proposed remedies following a ruling from August that addressed the company’s dominance in search and online ads. The document also argued that Google should be prohibited from entering into exclusionary agreements with publishers.
“It’s not illegal to have a monopoly,” EFF’s @mitchstoltz told @voxdotcom about Google. “But it is illegal to leverage one’s monopoly power to maintain that monopoly, basically to stay a monopolist by means other than simply having the best product.” https://t.co/xOFvHg27Ao
— EFF (@EFF) November 22, 2024
Losing a dominant product like Chrome could enable more competition and address some advertiser frustrations around working within a walled garden. However, the transition would likely not be smooth or fast, given the significant advertising activity and widely adopted ad products tied to Chrome’s infrastructure. “While a more fragmented browser market could foster a healthier ecosystem of independent players, the transition process risks disrupting the delicate balance of advertising workflows,” said Mateusz Jedrocha, chief product officer at the media-buying platform Adlook.
AG Yost, 37 of his colleagues and the U.S. Department of Justice have recommended a plan to resolve Google’s anticompetitive conduct and promote fair competition in the internet search and advertising markets.
Details: https://t.co/KqS2HDeYlE pic.twitter.com/tdpMLqfjOl— Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (@OhioAG) November 21, 2024
“Advertisers, accustomed to Chrome’s tight integration with tools like Google Ads and Analytics, would need to rethink strategies and adapt to a potentially less streamlined environment.”
Worth remembering that an Australian govt would not be able to do this – and the Albanese govt doesn't believe it should be able to!
Divestiture powers are sensible powers to fight monopolies. https://t.co/daVUwFjT19
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) November 22, 2024
Google described the DOJ’s recommendations as wildly overreaching and said they are being driven by a “radical interventionist agenda.” Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, wrote, “We’re still at the early stages of a long process and many of these demands are clearly far afield from what even the Court’s order contemplated. We’ll file our own proposals next month, and will make our broader case next year.”
Chrome controls over 60% of the web browser market and wields significant clout in online advertising. The browser is a cornerstone of Google’s advertising dominance, particularly in search engine marketing (SEM).
SEM accounted for roughly 14% of total media spend last year. “The DOJ’s push to force Google to sell Chrome could create one of the most significant disruptions in the advertising landscape in years,” said Bradley Keefer, chief revenue officer of Keen Decision Systems. Google’s push to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, first set into motion in 2020, spurred a broad movement to wean off reliance on the ad-targeting technology.
doj calls for Chrome divestiture
Amid a series of complications, Google ultimately delayed its plan, but the effort’s reverberations are still felt today, with many advertisers continuing to seek alternative solutions. One of those is Google’s Privacy Sandbox, an initiative that could be further disrupted by a Chrome sell-off, according to Jedrocha.
“Designed as an alternative to third-party cookies, Privacy Sandbox has been positioned as a cornerstone of the industry’s privacy-first future,” said Jedrocha. “However, Chrome’s independence could disrupt this trajectory, leaving advertisers and developers in a state of uncertainty.”
Google losing Chrome would theoretically benefit browser competition, but some rivals did not seem enthusiastic about the specifics of the DOJ’s recommendations. Mozilla, a nonprofit group that operates the Firefox browser, stated, “The US Department of Justice’s proposed remedies, aimed at improving search engine competition, would unnecessarily impact browser competition.
If implemented, the prohibition on search agreements with all browsers regardless of size and business model will negatively impact independent browsers like Firefox and have knock-on effects for an open and accessible internet.”
Players that could see more direct gains include digital advertising platforms that have begun to chip away at Google’s market share in recent years. These include retail media networks leveraging first-party shopper data to target ads. “Retail media giants like Walmart and Amazon, already gaining momentum with competitive CPMs, could see additional growth as advertisers diversify their spend,” wrote Keefer.
“The ripple effects would extend beyond search. Meta and TikTok, already battling for dominance in social media advertising, could see intensified competition,” he added. The proposed sale of Google Chrome could potentially reshape the marketing and digital advertising landscape, introducing both challenges and opportunities as marketers navigate increased competition and fragmentation.
Only time will tell how these changes will unfold and the broader implications for the industry.
