New ruling: Google doesn't have to sell Chrome browser

Washington [US], September 3: A US federal judge ruled on September 2 that Google is not forced to sell its Chrome browser, but must share data with competitors.
According to Axios on September 3, the ruling was made by Judge Amit Mehta regarding the antitrust lawsuit against the American technology company Google . According to the latest ruling, Google can still sign agreements with technology companies and phone manufacturers to make Google's search application the default, although Google will no longer be able to sign exclusive contracts.
Observers saw this as a surprising ruling by Judge Mehta, who last August concluded that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in the online search sector through exclusive distribution agreements with technology companies.
The US government has urged a court to force Google to divest its stake in Chrome, its key web browser and search engine, which opponents say has dominated the online search market and weakened the competitiveness of other rivals.
Judge Mehta said on September 2 that requiring Google to divest Chrome "would be extremely messy and risky," adding that the US government's lawyers had exceeded their authority in making that request, according to AFP.
Mr Mehta said the Chrome ban could have a serious impact on other businesses, especially as many parties are waiting to partner with Google in the search engine and artificial intelligence (AI) fields.
Also under the September 2 ruling, Google must provide "qualified competitors" with search data and user interaction information, so that businesses in the same field can improve their services. Google must also provide search results to competitors for up to five years.
A Google representative said the above ruling on sharing search data raises concerns about how it will impact users and businesses' privacy. Google added that it will carefully study the court's decision.
Gail Slater, head of the Justice Department 's antitrust division, said the September 2 ruling "provided more significant relief" than Google had sought.
During a hearing in April, Google CEO Sundar Pichai argued that sharing data could allow Google's competitors to study and copy its search technology. However, Judge Mehta stressed that there were limits to what data could be shared, and said that copying Google Search would not be easy.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper