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DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

arstechnica.com

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Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#101

Post by alt227 »

spankalee wrote: post #94
alt227 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesnt need to be sustained at the level Google is pushing it. Development could slow down considerably and it wouldnt harm anything, in fact it would do just what the DoJ wants and make it a fairer playing field for other browsers to catch up and compete.

As a web developer who really wants to see the web keep evolving so I can build better things: that would definitely harm things. Chrome is keeping the pressure on Apple to actually invest in the web. Without Chrome, the web withers and Apple reenforces their walled app garden.

> the web withers

It really doesnt. The current pace of new web standards and browser features mean frameworks and code need to constantly be checking if each browser supports the new thing, and not releasing said feature until enough versions of browsers support the thing to make it widespread enough to use. Even then, people in lesser developed countries that are using older devices with older versions of browsers on them are seeing broken and unuseable versions of the web, just because big companies are racing to 'push the web forward'.

As a web developer who wants to see the rate of new standards and features slow down so that all browsers can adopt them safely at a sensible pace without needing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on development, I really hope for this outcome.

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#102

Post by forty »

lillecarl wrote: post #34
bsimpson wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how this worldview coexists with countries like Russia and China. If the feds kneecap US companies, it's not going to make the next generation of US companies stronger, just cede influence to worse jurisdictions.

Yeah but it's also not great when Amazon can undercut their way into every market because AWS is a crazy cash cow, which hurt other US companies. Do you really need Amazon to be a "second government" who can decide what "you" buy, see and to some degree think. It "works" in China where the government just stomps their feet if companies misbehave too much and everyone complies instantly or get replaced. Edit: s/Amazon…

Absolutely agree on the fact that we don't need / should not have "second gouvernements" (and non democratically choosen too). Which is why we should also apply this regular "maintainance split" to largest fortunes too.

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#103

Post by rahton »

jcranmer wrote: post #5

IMHO, the real issue with Google isn't the control of the web browser, but the complete vertical integration of the ad space. Divest Google of its position as the ad broker (i.e., unwind its acquisition of DoubleClick), and prohibit any sort of privileged data flow from Google to ex-Google Ads, and you'd probably have a more viable solution than the poking DoJ is trying to do right now.

With the Privacy Sandbox Google already prepared for their sell side ad business to be sold. With the ad auctioning logic and data flow being handled directly in Chrome PS they wouldn't need GAM anymore and would probably easily accept this part to be split. And it could even reinforce their vertical integration. On the other hand with no direct access to the browser and no 3rd party cookies anymore, they would probably be less relevant for media buyers on the open web, which could open a good chunk of the market for other ad platforms.

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#105

Post by forty »

SteveNuts wrote: post #18
martinsnow wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which business units should be broken up?

Microsoft and Azure, Bing, Office 365 Amazon (the retailer portion) and AWS, and probably their logistics wing

For AWS we should split the platform and the managed services (no one should have to compete with "the platform". See elasticsearch, redis).

This also works for Amazon retail, they should not be allowed to sell on their own marketplace (they have to choose, they are either a marketplace or a seller)

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#106

Post by Tostino »

9283409232 wrote: post #25
staplung wrote: post #8

Honest question: who are the potential realistic buyers of Chrome? OS vendors already have their own browsers and Chrome doesn't directly make much (any?) money.

I don't mean this because he is topical but Musk makes the most sense. In the same way Brave has Brave Wallet, if Musk really wants to force his X Pay and Wallet on the world, integrating with the most popular browser is a solid move.

No way. He is part of the government forcing the sale. What have we come to in this country.

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#107

Post by Zigurd »

pton_xd wrote: post #36

The article mentions "Trump's DOJ" but in actuality the DOJ has been building a case against Google since at least 2021 [0]. [0] https://www.justice.gov/atr/case/us-and-plaintiff-states-v-g...

If anything, a DOJ under any Republican president is more likely to lean into the criterion of consumer welfare to determine antitrust priorities. You can bet Google's strategy is tuned for making the most of this theory of antitrust. There's almost nothing you can do to Google that won't make consumers have to pay more for a less convenient solution, due to messy technical issues.

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#108

Post by kweingar »

I wonder who would buy "Chromium with a Google skin." You'd get a massive user base, but what would you do with the product? The only thing that distinguishes it from other Chromium-based browsers is integration with Google account features, which doesn't seem useful for a non-Google company.

Buying Chromium is a more interesting proposition, but you can't really "buy" it (aside from the trademark, infrastructure, domains) because the codebase isn't Google's to sell. Would the web coalesce around the new owners just because they inherit the CI and the repo?

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#109

Post by kweingar »

black3r wrote: post #61
iAMkenough wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the other industries suffering from the same problem: Walmart, UnitedHealth Group, Berkshiere Hathaway, ExxonMobil, JPMorgan Chase, etc.

The problem with Google, Meta, Amazon, et. al. is that they have a steady stream of income from their main business, and use it to enter new markets with loss leader schemes obviously designed to destroy their pre-existing competition... I'm not from the US, but it seems to me like the companies you mention stay in their respective market and don't try to destroy competition in other markets, like Walmart is a superm…

How should free webmail work?

Re: DOJ: Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next

#110

Post by martinsnow »

RIMR wrote: post #91
martinsnow wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of those are owned by Google

And? We were talking about other businesses that should be split up in addition to Google. It would be weird if the only answers were Google-owned ventures...

Not in the context of my question. You are welcome to start your own comment thread.
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