Google's Future: Splitting Up and Sharing Data?

Google might have to part ways with some of its big names like Chrome and Android, sharing user search data with competitors. This comes after the US Justice Department suggested these changes in a recent court filing. The DOJ wants to stop Google from favoring its own products, like Chrome, Play, and Android, in search results. This is all because a judge found Google guilty of illegally controlling the search market last year. The Justice Department is also thinking about limiting Google's ability to make deals with other companies to set Google as the default search engine on browsers and phones. A Google manager once revealed that the company paid Apple $26 billion for this. Another idea is to stop Google from using search results to train its AI models. Google's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, thinks these ideas are too extreme. She worries about privacy and security if Google has to share user search data. She also thinks splitting off Chrome or Android could make them less secure and harder to fix. Plus, she says it could make devices more expensive and hurt competition with Apple. She believes limiting Google’s contracts could make searching more difficult and reduce revenue for companies like Mozilla and other smartphone makers. The Justice Department has until November 20 to give more details on their proposals, and Google has until December 20 to suggest its own solutions.