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SAN FRANCISCO: The US will urge a judge to make Google-parent company Alphabet sell its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the Internet giant, according to a media report Monday.
Antitrust officials with the US Department of Justice declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that they will ask for a sell-off of Chrome and a shake-up of other aspects of Google’s business in court Wednesday.
Justice officials in October said they would demand that Google make profound changes to how it does business — even considering the possibility of a breakup — after the tech juggernaut was found to be running an illegal monopoly.
The government said in a court filing that it was considering options that included “structural” changes, which could see them asking for a divestment of its smartphone Android operating system or its Chrome browser.
Calling for the breakup of Google would mark a profound change by the US government’s reglators, which have largely left tech giants alone since failing to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google dismissed the idea at the time as “radical.”
Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress, released a statement arguing that what justice officials reportedly want is “fantastical” and defies legal standards, instead calling for narrowly tailored remedies.
Determining how to address Google’s wrongs is the next stage of a landmark antitrust trial that saw the company in August ruled a monopoly by US District Court Judge Amit Mehta.
Requiring Google to make its search data available to rivals was also on the table.
Regardless of Judge Mehta’s eventual decision, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, potentially prolonging the process for years and possibly reaching the US Supreme Court.
The trial, which concluded last year, scrutinized Google’s confidential agreements with smartphone manufacturers, including Apple.
These deals involve substantial payments to secure Google’s search engine as the default option on browsers, iPhones and other devices.
The judge determined that this arrangement provided Google with unparalleled access to user data, enabling it to develop its search engine into a globally dominant platform.
From this position, Google expanded its tech empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
According to the judgment, Google controlled 90 percent of the US online search market in 2020, with an even higher share, 95 percent, on mobile devices.
Remedies being sought will include imposing measures curbing Google artificial intelligence from tapping into website data and barring the Android mobile operating system from being bundled with the company’s other offerings, according to the report.
 

LONDON: Streaming platform Twitch has updated its hate speech policy to include the term “Zionist” as a potential slur, reflecting heightened sensitivity in online moderation amid escalating tensions stemming from Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

“Starting today, using the term ‘Zionist’ to attack or demean another individual or group of people on the basis of their background or religious belief is against our rules,” Twitch, owned by Amazon, announced in a blog post.

The platform, widely popular among video gamers, clarified that as “Zionist” and “Zionism” are political terms, they will still be allowed in discussions about the political movement, whether supportive or critical, provided the language does not target individuals.

“Our goal isn’t to stifle conversation about or criticism of an institution or ideology, but to prevent coded hate directed at individuals and groups of people,” the company said.

The policy update comes amid a spike in hateful content on social media platforms following the Oct. 7 attacks.

A report released in June by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue highlighted alarming increases in antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric online, including a 51-fold surge in antisemitic comments on YouTube and a 422 percent rise in anti-Muslim hate speech on X.

Twitch’s move follows pressure from US Congressman Ritchie Torres and the Anti-Defamation League.

In a letter to Twitch executives, Torres criticized the platform’s handling of hate speech, singling out prominent Turkish-American streamer Hasan Piker as a “poster child” for what he described as “terrorism apologist” comments following the Oct. 7 events.

Torres, who recently secured re-election with significant support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accused Twitch of failing to adequately address antisemitic content and called for stricter moderation.

Twitch’s announcement aligns it with other platforms tightening their moderation policies.

In July, Meta began removing posts targeting “Zionists” when the term was used to demean Jewish people or Israelis, rather than in reference to the political movement.

This step followed allegations that Meta mishandled pro-Palestinian content, including findings from an Arab News investigation last year.