Google will bribe trump and this’ll be undone immediately
DOJ to ask judge to force Google to sell off Chrome, Bloomberg reports
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Joker@sh.itjust.works to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
Rogue@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Google is such a good company, one the best. Everybody says it. I was just talking to John Google the other day, and he tells me, no really he did, he tells me we’re going to do amazing things together. Oogles of googles. That’s what we’ll sell. Everybody will know about google by this time next year. It’s true.
errer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
God damnit.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
You forgot the unrelated rant in the middle about toasters being too dark these days or some shit.
ulterno@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Username checks out
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Oogles of googles
Google: furiously writing down cereal ideas
0xb@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
That would be the logical thing according to common sense and probably according to pichai a few weeks ago, but trump just nominated an anti big tech and musk friend to the FCC. musk is behind almost everybody in ai and autonomous cars so he’ll definitely push to hamper all competitors.
Sure, we don’t know how far would they go or how long will musk keep having white house influence and personally breaking up google is now off the table, but I don’t think they will get off the hook too easily.
So surely a very big bribe.
very_well_lost@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Rad. Do Microsoft next.
Twitches@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
If you’re talking about edge browser, edge is chrome.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ew. So if someone likes their girlfriend to tie them up and edge them, that means they enjoy a breach of privacy, and getting google involved?
r_13@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
very_well_lost@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Again! Again!
vortexal@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
If this happens, I’d be interested in seeing how this effects ChromeOS. I don’t use it but my mom does.
Also, if you’re confused as to why ChromeOS would be effected, while it’s based on Gentoo Linux, ChromeOS uses a modified version of Chrome as it’s Desktop Environment.
Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Its based on debian now :(
Depending on what version
vortexal@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
According to Wikipedia, it’s still based on Gentoo, it just uses Debian for running Linux applications in Crostini.
btaf45@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yes I would like to know what that means for ChromeOS and Chromebooks. If the new “Chrome” company got ChromeOS also that would be huge. But if that is not a requirement Google could just put another Chromium browser in ChromeOS. They could also continue to sell Chromebooks but based on a ChromiumOS fork.
normalexit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This seems like a sensible consumer protection to not let the ad company control the biggest web browser. I won’t hold my breath, but I’m glad they are trying something.
AWS should also be split from Amazon.
Zetta@mander.xyz 1 week ago
AWS is amazing’s money maker, they might as well just sell Amazon and keep AWS lol
sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I think this is something even Elon Musk could get behind.
samus12345@lemmy.world 1 week ago
They can just wait it out until it becomes the corpo-friendly Dept. of Injustice on Jan. 20th.
Etterra@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Better hurry, Trump’s rubber stamp DOJ will kill this faster than a cop encountering a dog.
capital@lemmy.world 1 week ago
For the right price.
ColdWater@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
LoL they won’t, even if they buy it for 1 trillion dollar
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
What’s to stop them just making another browser?
ShepherdPie@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
With blackjack and hookers?
AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’m 40% internet browser.
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Potentially.
btaf45@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
What’s to stop them just making another browser?
Nothing. Chromium is open source. So they could just fork it and declare a new “official” google browser and it would be a lot like Chrome.
I’m not sure why the govt thinks forcing google to give up a particular fork/branch of an open source browser is all that meaningful. It might make more sense if Chrome was a closed source one of a kind browser.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I’ve worked in the aftermath of DoJ agreements like this one. The DoJ is not stupid (or at least didn’t used to be) and will have stipulations about removing Google employees from governance/write permissions to the project, with follow up check-ins every few months to make sure any shenanigans aren’t occurring.
…none of that matters though now that the DoJ is going to be dissolved.
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
That’s exactly what I was thinking. It also makes Chrome essentially worthless to anyone except Google.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Not needed. Internet Explorer existed for years after the 90s. It wasn’t killed by the courts. It was killed by the fact that it’s only function was to install a better browser on first boot.
cdf12345@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I think you are severely underestimating how many people don’t even understand the difference between windows, explorer, a web browser and even the Internet itself during the 90’s well into the 2000’s even 2010’s.
That’s who kept IE alive
grue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They didn’t make the first one! They got it from Apple, who themselves got it from KDE.
ulterno@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Google: Sure, we’ll sell it to anyone who pays off our Russian Govt fine.
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 1 week ago
How do you sell something thats open source?
ccdfa@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Chromium is open source, Google bases their Chrome off of it, but Chrome is not open source.
btaf45@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I don’t see how a “Chrome” company would make any money. Now if the Chrome Company also owned ChromeOS and Chromebooks that might be interesting. But it could also be bad, because such a company would probably want to take a cut of every Chromebook in order to actually make money.
MCasq_qsaCJ_234@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
What if Linux foundation buys Chrome?
Joker@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
They already have Servo.
TheBlackLounge@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Do they have the money? What is the value of Chrome anyways, if you can’t do monopoly things with it? About as much as Firefox?
riodoro1@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They are going to ask a judge like they have no fucking balls.
ulterno@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
It’s called “Distribution of Power”.
We should be thankful it’s still here.riodoro1@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Distribution of power into corporate hands. Oh, im willing to bet it is here to stay.
btaf45@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
[Google controls how people view the internet]
This doesn’t quite make sense. How does Chrome “control how people view the internet”? Isn’t html/css the main thing that controls how people view the internet?
[ and what ads they see in part through its Chrome browser, which typically uses Google search,]
But it is trivial to change your default search agent right?
Is this move something we should view as a good thing, and if so, then why?
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Essentially, everything is Chrome, Firefox and Safari.
Brave, edge etc are chrome.
Google controlling chrome controls what the vast majority of people use to see the internet, and then they change chrome to make it harder for you to block ads that they want to show.
piskertariot@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Steam, Spotify, Discord. Whoops, all Chromium.
Landslide7648@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Breaking up monopolies is a good thing, and Google arguably holds too much power. Chromium is being used in 70% of browsers, and the decision how to implement and develop web standards are all in the hand of one for profit company, which had little interest in keeping things open and accessible (and private).
A quote from this Register article sums it up nicely:
What we are forced to assume in turn is that Chrome is built by the professional developers working for an ad agency with the primary goal of building a web browser that serves the needs of other professional developers working for the ad agency’s prospective clients.
Xatolos@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
Chromium is being used in 70% of browsers
To me, I don’t think that should be an issue in anything. That’s up to browser makers. They are able to use whatever they want, and they will use whatever is easiest/best for their usage. They are also free to use WebKit (Safari’s engine), Gecko (Mozilla), or roll their own. This just sounds like you want to punish someone because they made something everyone preferred just because everyone preferred it.
It’s different when you are “forced” to use it (use ours or we won’t let you on our devices, like iOS, or use ours and we will lower/cut our fees for other things you want/need, like many different companies). But when the public is truly free to use what they want and they all want the same thing, then it shouldn’t be used as a reason to punish them.
douglasg14b@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Chrome has a massive market share and Google abuses that market share by breaking web standards, and pushing people towards Chrome because “the competition doesn’t work”.
They act in bad faith and abuse their position to more deeply entrench their position in anticompetitive monopolistic ways.
That’s the Crux of it.
btaf45@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Google abuses that market share by breaking web standards,
Has this actually happened? Are there examples?
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
HA!
What a joke.
danc4498@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is probably the real reason corporate America had no interest in endorsing Harris.
OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Stock didn’t drop
Moah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 week ago
They shutting force then to stop the advertising branch too
theneverfox@pawb.social 1 week ago
Sprint merged with TMobile
barkingspiders@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Lit. It’s a good ask although it’s not clear what separation means here. Not going to hold my breath, the big corpos seem to usually win these kind of games.
Arkouda@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Chrome is now owned by a company, owned by a company, owned by another company, that is owned by Google.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
And even in the case where there is actual separation, and competition, it will only be temporary!
see history of telco consolidation after a monopoly breakup in 1984
IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Chrome is now owned by a separate conpany with the same major stock holders.
Eldritch@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s like they’re a company pretending to be another company, disguised as another company. Tropic Thunder all the way down.