A federal judge has ruled that Google may retain ownership of its Chrome browser, but it will have to make some changes to do so.
In a 226-page decision in a major anti-trust case against Google, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. argued that the plaintiffs “overreached” in their efforts to get the tech giant to divest Chrome, given that Google didn’t conduct any illegal behaviour with the browser.
That said, Mehta also ruled that Google must share Chrome search index and user-interaction data — but not ad-related information — with competitors. On top of that, Google will be limited in the number of deals it can sign with other companies to make the likes of Search, Chrome and Gemini the default apps on various devices.
These concessions are aimed at better levelling the playing field. After all, with roughly 3.5 billion users, Chrome is by far the leading web browser with nearly 70 per cent market share. Naturally, Google still pushed back on this ruling, stating that it has “concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy.” The company says it’s “reviewing the decision closely.”
Meanwhile, Gail Slater, the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust chief, called the decision a “major win” for consumers despite not getting everything the agency sought in court. She added that the Justice Department is investigating “whether the ordered relief goes far enough.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
Via: CBC
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