Advocacy Group Urges Court to Force Google to Sell Chrome
Public Knowledge argues in a federal appeals court brief that independent Chrome ownership would break Google's grip on browser distribution.
A prominent digital rights advocacy group is calling on a federal appeals court to require Google to divest Chrome, contending that the tech giant's control over the world's dominant browser harms competition and consumer privacy. Public Knowledge filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit making the case for a structural remedy that goes beyond behavioral restrictions.
In its brief, Public Knowledge argued that independent ownership of Chrome would "open the distribution channel Google controls" and allow the browser to prioritize user privacy rather than Google's business interests. The group's position reflects growing concern among regulators and civil society organizations that Google's dominance spans multiple layers of the internet ecosystem — from search to the browser millions use to access it.
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The filing lands as antitrust scrutiny of Google reaches a critical juncture. Courts and regulators have been weighing what remedies would meaningfully restore competition after a federal judge found last year that Google had illegally maintained its monopoly in the online search market. Forcing a Chrome divestiture would represent one of the most aggressive antitrust interventions against a technology company in decades.
Advocates like Public Knowledge argue that behavioral remedies — such as prohibiting certain exclusive agreements — are insufficient to dismantle entrenched platform power. Separating Chrome from Google, they contend, would give a genuinely independent browser maker both the incentive and the freedom to make decisions that serve users rather than an advertising-driven parent company. Whether the D.C. Circuit will embrace such a sweeping remedy remains to be seen, but the brief signals that pressure for structural breakup options is intensifying.
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