“The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” Mulholland said.
While pushing such a sale would be a major move by regulators, it is a scaling back of earlier options considered by the officials, including forcing Google to sell off its Android business, Bloomberg reports. In addition to a Chrome sale, the DOJ is also expected to request certain requirements of the tech giant’s artificial intelligence and Android smartphone operating system, as well as to impose data licensing requirements, according to Bloomberg.