DOJ proposes forcing Google to sell Chrome browser

The US Department of Justice has called for Google parent company Alphabet to dispose of its Chrome browser arm in an effort to stop the group from maintaining its online search monopoly.

In addition to the sale, a DOJ filing made late on Wednesday also recommended that District Judge Amit Mehta force Alphabet to stop entering into contracts with the likes of Apple and Samsung that make its search engine the default on both smartphones and browsers.

A number of US states joined the DOJ in the filing, arguing that the proposed changes would help to open up a monopolised market.

The proposed remedies stem from a landmark anti-competition ruling reached back in August, when Mehta found Google had illegally crushed its competition in the online search market.

Google stated the DOJ had chosen to "push a radical interventionist agenda" that would harm both "Americans and America's global technology leadership".

"DOJ's wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," said Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond Search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

As of 1045 GMT, Alphabet shares were down 0.37% at $177.33 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com