By Jody Godoy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet’s Google and U.S. antitrust enforcers will make their final arguments on whether the tech giant should be forced to sell its Chrome browser or adopt other measures to restore competition in online search, as the blockbuster antitrust trial concludes on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states are pressing to make Google not only sell Chrome, but also share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers and wireless carriers that set Google as the default search engine on new devices.
The proposals aim to restore competition after a judge found last year that Google illegally dominates the online search and related advertising markets. Artificial intelligence companies could get a boost after already rattling Google’s status as the go-to tool to find information online.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is overseeing the trial, which began in April. He has said he aims to rule on the proposals by August.
If the judge does require Google to sell off Chrome, OpenAI would be interested in buying it, Nick Turley, OpenAI’s product head for ChatGPT, said at the trial.
OpenAI would also benefit from access to Google’s search data, which would help it make responses to user inquiries more accurate and up to date, Turley said.
Google says the proposals go far beyond what is legally justified by the court’s ruling, and would give away its technology to competitors. The company has already begun loosening agreements with smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics to allow them to load rival search and AI products.
The DOJ wants the judge to go farther, banning Google from making lucrative payments in exchange for installation of its search app.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)
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