Google Claims Exclusive Ability to Operate Chrome Due to Complex Dependencies

April 26 — Google's Chrome general manager, Parisa Tabriz, testified in a federal court that the company is the sole entity capable of operating the Chrome browser at its current level of functionality. This testimony came as part of the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust case against Google, which alleges the tech giant illegally monopolized the search market.

Key Arguments

• Chrome's Unique Position: Tabriz emphasized that Chrome's features, such as safe browsing and password breach notifications, rely on Google's broader infrastructure. "Trying to disentangle that is unprecedented," she said.
• Divestiture Feasibility: The DOJ argued that Google could transfer Chrome ownership without disrupting its functionality. James Mickens, a Harvard computer science professor and DOJ expert, stated, "The divestiture of Chrome is feasible from a technical perspective."
• Open-Source Contributions: While Chrome is based on the open-source Chromium Project, Tabriz noted Google contributes over 90% of its code, investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" and employing 1,000 engineers.

Broader Implications

The DOJ has proposed remedies including:

• Forcing Google to sell Chrome
• Sharing search data
• Banning payments for default search engine status (extending to AI products like Gemini)

AI Integration

Tabriz revealed Google's plans to evolve Chrome into an "agentic browser," integrating AI agents like Gemini to automate tasks. Competitors like Microsoft are also embedding AI (e.g., Copilot in Edge).

Market Dominance

Chrome holds a 66% global browser market share (Statcounter, March 2024). The case could reshape tech competition, particularly in AI and search.

Source: Statcounter