The DOJ's action against Chrome revives demands for Google to divest Android.

      Calls for Google to divest Chrome have reignited demands for the company to also sell Android. An executive from Murena, a French smartphone startup, stated today that separating these businesses is the only way to end Google’s "cycle of domination."

      The appeal comes after a court filing from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, which reiterated a proposal for Google to divest its Chrome browser and sell it to a competitor, aiming to dismantle the tech giant's purported search engine monopoly.

      The DOJ's filing asserted, “Due to its massive size and unchecked power, Google has deprived consumers and businesses of a fundamental promise owed to the public — their right to choose among competing services.” This complaint mirrors ongoing concerns regarding Chrome’s market dominance.

      In February, Chrome accounted for two-thirds of the global browser market, followed by Safari at 17.99%, Edge at 5.33%, Firefox at 2.62%, and Samsung Internet at 2.3%. Opera, Europe’s largest native browser, represented merely 2.09%.

      The DOJ's initiative seeks to create a fairer competitive landscape. However, Rik Viergever, COO at Murena, believes that the new proposals alone will not suffice.

      “As an advocate for data privacy, I applaud the DOJ’s move to compel Google to sell Chrome, but this should only be the initial step,” he commented. “I want to see Google divest the Android operating system.”

      The government has not ruled this out, but is initially calling for modifications to Google's Android business practices. If these changes do not reduce Google's market power, the DOJ may consider pushing for divestment from the operating system.

      Viergever is calling for greater judicial action to alleviate Google’s "stranglehold" on consumers and competitors.

      “Google can afford to offer Android for free to users because it profits from them in numerous other ways and markets,” he stated. “This makes it nearly impossible for other providers in the operating system market to compete, perpetuating the cycle of domination.”

      Viergever’s perspective is in line with Murena’s mission. The company's primary products are “deGoogled” smartphones that position themselves as privacy-focused alternatives to the Apple-Google mobile duopoly.

      These devices operate on /e/OS, a privacy-centric, open-source alternative to Android that Murena developed to escape dependence on Google’s operating system.

      Viergever contends that selling Chrome would foster better products.

      “It’s time to open the market to innovation and competition so that users can benefit from a dynamic industry where businesses compete with consumer-oriented products, rather than allowing a dominant company like Google to retain all the power,” he remarked.