The potential breakup of Google could have far-reaching consequences for both consumers and the tech industry. If the US Justice Department forces Google to sell Chrome and syndicate Google Search search results, the search engine market could see much-needed diversification. The
proposed final judgment would require Google to provide rivals and potential competitors with both user-side and ad data — at no cost and on a non-discriminatory basis — for a period of ten years. With Google’s search results and other data more accessible to third parties, rival search engines could leverage this data to improve their offerings and create more competitive alternatives. This could give users more choices and may even lead some to migrate away from Google,
reducing the company’s ability to dominate data collection for targeted ads, which currently fuels most of its revenue.
However, the impact on consumers will depend on who ends up acquiring Chrome. Only a few tech giants have the resources to buy such a valuable asset, especially considering that Chrome is currently estimated to
cost $20 billion. That means the competition for market share could become more concentrated, rather than decentralized, if the sale ends up in the hands of another tech monopoly like Amazon, which accounts for about 40% share of e-sales in the US.
