Google doesn't have to sell Chrome browser but has to share data with competitors

While sharing data would strengthen Google's ad business rivals, not having to sell Chrome or Android removes a major concern for investors.

A judge in Washington ruled on September 2 that Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser.

This is considered a rare victory for big technology companies in the battle with US antitrust enforcement agencies.

However, the ruling also requires Google to share data with rivals to open up competition in online search.

Federal Judge Amit Mehta also ruled that Google could keep its Android operating system, which, along with Chrome, is a tool that helps fuel Google's dominant online advertising business.

While sharing data with competitors would strengthen rivals in Google's advertising business, not having to sell Chrome or Android removes a major concern for investors, who see them as important pieces of Google's overall business.

Shares of Alphabet, Google's parent company, rose 7.2% in after-hours trading on September 2, as investors cheered the judge's ruling.

The ruling also comes as a relief to Apple and other device and web browser makers, which Judge Mehta said can continue to receive advertising revenue-sharing payments from Google for searches on their devices.

Antitrust regulators have previously argued that the lucrative payments have squeezed out rivals in the search space. Morgan Stanley analysts said last year that Google pays Apple $20 billion a year.

Google is facing a major threat from increasingly popular AI tools that have begun to erode its dominance. If given access to the data Google is required to share, AI companies could accelerate the development of their own chatbots and, in some cases, AI-powered search engines and web browsers.

In a blog post, Google expressed concerns that sharing data would impact users and their privacy, and that the company is reviewing the ruling closely.

Google has previously said it plans to appeal, meaning it could be years before the company is required to comply with the ruling. The case is likely to go all the way to the Supreme Court.

The ruling is the result of a five-year legal battle between one of the world's most profitable companies and the US government, where antitrust lawmakers and regulators have long questioned the market dominance of big tech companies./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/google-khong-phai-ban-trinh-duyet-chrome-nhung-phai-chia-se-du-lieu-voi-doi-thu-post1059620.vnp