It's not the size
Taking Chrome from Google is lazy regulation. Getting Google to play fair in its ad biz is smart
When ChatGPT debuted late in 2022, pundits predicted the decline of Google Search. Google's own engineers were alarmed, because if a chatbot gave clear and concise answers to everything, who would click on advertising links? But almost 30 months later, Bank of America's research shows daily visits to Google Search are stable, bringing in $198bn – 57% of Google parent Alphabet's revenue – in 2024. Therefore, it's interesting that as the US Department of Justice (DoJ) pursues a monopoly case against Google, ChatGPT has evinced interest in buying Chrome browser, the primary way to access Google Search.
Globally, Chrome – which comes bundled with Android, the most popular mobile OS – had 66% of the browser market last month. Apple's Safari browser came next with roughly 18%, but Google is its default search engine also. Alphabet ensures this by paying Apple billions – $20bn in 2022, for example. With about 90% of all searches made on Google, charges of monopolisation are understandable. However, the wisdom of breaking up a company to ensure competition is questionable. DoJ had famously tried to push Microsoft to bundle its rival Netscape Navigator browser with Windows in 1998. Bill Gates likened it to Coca-Cola including three cans of Pepsi in every six-pack. Six years later, that high-profile case ended with a whimper. Microsoft never split.
Monopolies are no doubt bad for the business ecosystem. While Google, fairly or unfairly, controls online search and advertising, Apple has faced monopoly charges for its App Store fees. Its fight with 'Fortnite' maker Epic is back in court. And regulators should step in when dominant players use their position to charge extortionate rates, or throw dissenting partners off their platforms – something that affects content providers, for example, and to mitigate which Google and Facebook have struck deals with those companies. But breaking up big firms is not the answer. Eventually, it wasn't DoJ but the iPhone in 2007 and Chrome in 2008, and Android phones thereafter that reduced Microsoft's might.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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