ANTITRUST: Google Should Be Forced to Sell Chrome Browser, Justice Department Says.

Government lawyers said competition can only be restored if Google separates its search engine from products it has built to access the internet, such as Chrome and its Android mobile operating system. Chrome controls about two-thirds of the global browser market, according to the website Statcounter. Searches in the Chrome address bar go through Google unless a user changes the settings.

The Justice Department also requested that Google be prevented from giving preferential access to its search engine on devices that use its Android mobile operating system. If Google violated that rule in the future, it would have to divest itself of Android as well under the government’s proposal.

Android runs on billions of smartphones from manufacturers such as Samsung, along with Google’s own Pixel devices.

Google would also be forbidden from paying to be the default search engine on any browser, including Chrome under its new owner. Google currently pays Apple tens of billions of dollars a year to be the default on its Safari browser.

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