the browser itself doesn't matter. Google have had 10 years to do what they want with the specs for html, CSS and JavaScript, to define everything from browser extension APIs to the http protocol itself. they have won. not only have they spent a decade architecting the web in a way that mostly benefits them, they have made those specifications so bloated and complicated that nobody can develop a competitor from scratch. it took years to undo the damage wrought by ie6's stagnation but this is different. this shit can't be undone. it's fucked forever
this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
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It would be better to not allow Google to have a major stake in the control of the Chromium project itself. Same for Android, force them to spin AOSP off into a nonprofit or sell it to EFF or something and forbid them from having a huge stake in it.
Let them use it for their own products, but remove their financial influence over the underlying software.
Spinning off AOSP into something like Mozilla would massively boost its appeal. I myself left android cuz of privacy issues (no I can’t use GrapheneOS, I need access to my banking apps).
Use shit banking apps on GOS from 6 of them from 3 countries , no issus what so ever. Apple has privacy issues as well. You can also use other roms with microG and aurorastore
or pay a generous fee of %0.00001 of your yearly earnings to make it go away
Which tech company would buy Chrome from Google? I just can't think of a single tech company that could be an improvement over Google owning Chrome.
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Amazon
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Apple
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Meta
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Microsoft
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Oracle
What about media companies? I don't see consumers benefiting from this.
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Comcast
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Disney
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Netflix
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Viacom
What about telecom? I still don't see consumers benefiting from this.
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AT&T
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T-Mobile
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Verizon
What about foreign companies? Will they be even allowed to buy Chrome? I'm not sure.
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LG
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Philips
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Samsung
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Sony
The more I think about it, this won't end well.
Sell it to Canonical
Sell it to IBM so they can end all support lol
Of those companies, Apple seems like the best option due to their business goals (privacy). Though I am not fully sure why they'd want to as they already have a browser with a relative market share dominance and ecosystem.
Realistically, it would make sense to see Microsoft try again, it would instantly get 70% of the world to use "Edge", so their goals are met. Chrome already has the modern web standards, so it might just mean slower progression of the web in the future.
Apples business isn't privacy. Apples business is selling privacy.
I don't disagree, it's more of a matter of least evil.
Apple seems like the best option due to their business goals (privacy).
Lol. Lmao, even.
Sorry for the flippant comment, but it's so incredibly wrong that I need to highlight the ridiculousness. TBF to you, it's a common misconception due to Apple marketing's lies, and our regulatory agencies unable/unwilling to do anything about companies that lie like Apple does.
Microsoft would be even worse.
The best outcome IMO is to kill Chrome, Edge, AND Safari, and force users to scatter and find an alternative on their own. There will need to be some way to prevent all big tech from trying to compete here too (Facebook, Amazon, etc), as those are incentivized to monopolize exactly like Google did, and we shouldn't have to wait another 2 decades for the government to do something about it.
There will be some growing pains as people initially end up on shitty/scammy browsers, but eventually the market will do its thing and browser devs will compete for marketshare.
Is Microsoft even eligible? Wasn't their anti-trust suit over IE basically about this same thing?
Chromium is already there and companies like Microsoft have their own forks so... Yeah I think there's no point of buying Chrome.
It's the most popular web browser in the world. Direct access to the browser windows and browsing data of the majority of Internet users would be the point.
Stellantis
A direct “donation” to Trump would instantly fix this.
I'd cheer if I thought this was anything except a blackmail play when a Trump administration is now involved. They'll buy him off and it'll all be back to status quo by fall.
Google should do the power play and completely open source the browser.
But Chrome is already just Chromium with some binary blobs. Chromium itself even has sync and Google services at this point.
Besides, what would that change in regards to who develops it?
the doj doesn't care about monopolies; the doj just wants to punish people who don't push fascist agendas.
Not true. This lawsuit has been in the works for a long time. IIRC the investigation started towards the end up the first Trump admin, was completed, brought to trial, and won by the Biden admin, and now is being completed under Trump again.
Don't believe the MAGA lies about government agencies being partisan hacks. They're generally staffed by people who believe in the mission and put that ahead of politics. Under Trump, a lot of good people are leaving, but the ones playing the loyalty game can stay and keep working.
Google’s ad network and YouTube are pushing the agenda more than pretty much everyone.
I thought so too because I only get horrific conservative nonsense from their platforms but turns out they've been vearing left lately, delisting conservative news and banning far right advertisers.
They're an open platform. Anyone can buy ad time on their platforms. It has nothing to do with Google and everything to do with people buying ad time.
If you're going to be pissed, then be pissed. Just be right.
Just thinking one step further: If I have capital, I control the ads and content.
Thank god the rich are interested in human rights.
Wow that’s naive.
"Guns don't kill people, people do!" No structural issues here to see, please proceed /s
More like, if you sell a gun and follow the law, you're not responsible if the person you sold the gun to murders someone...
They're an ad agency. They sell ad space. If "anti-abortion" people buy ads, that doesn't mean that Google is pushing anti-abortion. How anyone could think like that is frankly the epitome of stupidity.
Microsoft Chrome
Meta Chrome
Amazon Chrome
Apple Chrome
Sell to who though
ByteDance shell company Chrome.
X Chrome
Ughhhhhhh
That…makes a horrible amount of sense.
I really want to downvote you just for the idea. Wow
Can I kick them? I want to kick them.
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