Before Google Chrome, there was a Google toolbar extension. That toolbar extension which was created when the current CEO of Google was running the growth arm was catalytic to the success of Google, and is also one of the reasons why the current CEO is the boss today.
Yes, in the digital space, the control of demand is more important than supply, and with the extension, Google was able to live within Firefox and Internet Explorer, and found a solid positioning. Then, over time, they extended that playbook, turning the toolbar into a full browser. The result is industry-shaping as Google controls the yam (the search), the palm oil (the browser) and the plate (humongous cache of the web) where everything is served. Google has already accomplished an unbelievable feat where millions of Google-unpaid SEO engineers do everything in this world so that Google can find their websites and use their contents for “free”.
Nothing bad about this since Google won through innovation. But it got greedy, and started acting like politicians when it paid Apple, Samsung and other device makers to keep its box as the default. Then the government came calling, and Google lost the case. Today, we are reading that the government wants to take Chrome out of the Google empire: “The U.S. Justice Department has decided to ask a federal judge to require Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser.“
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The Justice Department plans to ask a court to order Google to divest its Chrome web browser, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources. The department will also petition federal judge Amit Mehta, who in August declared Google’s search engine a monopoly, to mandate actions concerning artificial intelligence and the Android mobile operating system. In his ruling, which Google plans to appeal, Mehta said Google violated antitrust laws related to online search and search text ads. Chrome, the world’s most-used internet browser, commands about 61% of U.S. market share, per StatCounter. Experts believe it could fetch up to $20 billion in a sale.
Google People, that is a very big strike as the government wants to make Google blind. Without Chrome, Google cannot see much. The unification of search, browsing and data works well under Chrome. Chrome is the moat which protects the castle which has the profits of Google.
You will ask me why? Have you noticed that if you are logged into your Chrome browser, Google delivers a 10x better experience for you than when it does not know who is searching? If I type “convert USD to…”, it fills it up with Naira because it knows me. Take that Chrome out, Google will be lost most of the time. That is why disconnecting Chrome from the search box is a big deal.
America giveth, America taketh. What can we say from Nigeria? Ready to consume whoever buys Chrome (I expect Google to appeal if that is the case, and under Trump, it has a chance to pay fines and be forgiven forever after).
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How does separating Chrome from Google favour consumers? Does government exist to protect consumers or settle scores with any service provider it feels uncomfortable with? If Chrome goes away from Google, it is a loss for Google, but who wins? This is how government messes a lot of things up, but still give undiscerning public the impression that it works to protect them, until you ask it how. As always, the battle for control takes priority over practical benefits to end users. Chrome is free, so whoever that can afford to buy it from Google will have to think of how to recoup such investment.
In the end, Chrome will remain part of Google, but money has been wasted trying to fix what wasn’t broken. Wherever government grows bigger, it becomes self-serving, and never serves the interest of the people. The more things change, the more they remain same.
“How does separating Chrome from Google favour consumers? ” – that is the big question. They are redefining antitrust laws here.