The sale of Google's Chrome browser came after the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration decided to uphold a Biden-era proposal to break up Google's search business. The move could deal a heavy blow to Google's dominance of the web search market, but Apple could also be hit by the Justice Department's latest proposal.
As early as August this year, federal judge Amit Mehta filed a complaint against Google, believing that the technology giant had adopted a monopoly policy in the search market and must sell the Chrome browser to eliminate concerns. According to the latest Justice Department filing, selling Chrome would "provide an opportunity for a new competitor to operate a significant Internet search portal free from Google's monopoly control."
A final remedy will be decided in April, and Google now risks losing a product that accounts for more than 66% of the global browser market. However, selling Google Chrome could also cost Apple $20 billion in lost revenue.
Google is currently the default search engine for Apple's exclusive browser application Safari. To ensure this status, Google paid Apple a whopping $20 billion. If Chrome might be divested from Google, Google would no longer make Safari the default browser.
Meanwhile, Apple isn't idle either. In January, the iPhone maker filed an emergency motion to stop the case, arguing that its interests might not be fairly represented in the proceedings. While Judge Mehta denied Apple's request, he allowed the company to file a post-hearing brief and provide arguments.
Apple has said in court documents that it has no intention of building an exclusive search engine to compete with Google. Instead, Apple defended its agreement with Google, arguing that developing a similar product would take a lot of time and resources. However, Apple has long explored developing powerful search technology to improve its software experience and maintain negotiating leverage with Google.