On November 21, the U.S. antitrust regulators attempted to force Alphabet to sell its Chrome browser and adopt other proposals to limit its search dominance, but this effort may face legal challenges, as these remedies are considered too extreme.

U.S. Justice Department prosecutors argued before a judge on Wednesday that Google must sell Chrome, share data and search results with competitors, and may need to sell its Android smartphone software due to its illegal monopoly of the search market. Alphabet's stock price closed down nearly 5% on Thursday.

These proposals are part of a landmark case aimed at reshaping how users find information. However, experts say this effort may change under the new pro-business administration led by President-elect Donald Trump next year, and legal proceedings may continue for several years. Kevin Walksh of Jenson Investment Management said, "I think it's an excessive demand." Jenson holds Google shares and is skeptical about spinning off Chrome. "You ask for every possible measure, but you don't necessarily focus on what's feasible and proportional, and then see what can be sustained."

The U.S. Department of Justice won a lawsuit against Microsoft in the early 21st century when Microsoft was accused of illegally monopolizing the web browser market. However, this ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeals, and Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice eventually reached a settlement. Walksh predicts that Google's case will take years to conclude as it appeals, saying, "The wheels of justice don't turn quickly."

Google described the U.S. Department of Justice's approach as "unprecedented government overreach that will harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses" and cited examples where user privacy is compromised and funding is reduced when companies like browser manufacturer Mozilla use Google Search.

This case may also face challenges from Trump. Although the Trump administration filed a search lawsuit against Google during its first term, he stated in October that he might not split the company, as it could harm the U.S. tech industry, especially amid escalating competition with China in areas like artificial intelligence. Trump's representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chrome, the most widely used web browser, is a pillar of Google's business, providing valuable user data that helps it target ads. Search advertising accounted for more than half of Alphabet's total revenue of $88.3 billion in the latest quarter. It is estimated that Chrome accounts for about two-thirds of the global browser market, but its value would plummet as an independent browser.

"The reason it's valuable to Google is that they use it to enhance their advertising and search businesses," said Megan Gray, former general counsel of search competitor DuckDuckGO and a former lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission. "If you don't have these, then Chrome will just be a data broker."

Critics argue that forced sales will not resolve several key issues raised in the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit, including search monopoly. U.S. antitrust enforcers are also pursuing Apple and Amazon in other monopoly cases and will have to approve any potential Chrome buyers.

Gus Helwitz, senior researcher and academic director at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, said, "The Department of Justice will face significant resistance to this remedy." Because Chrome can run search engines other than Google. "The court expects any remedy to be causally related to the potential antitrust problem. Spinning off Chrome definitely won't solve this problem."

The U.S. Department of Justice also proposed a complete ban on Google offering incentives to give preferential treatment to its search engine. This would include Google's lucrative partnership with Apple, where Google pays the smartphone manufacturer billions of dollars annually to make Google Search the default search on Apple smartphones. Evercore analysts described the proposed restrictions as "severe." Helwitz said that considering the popularity of Google Search, Apple might continue to use Google as the default search engine even without any agreement or payment.

The U.S. Department of Justice's proposals also include requiring Google to license search results at nominal cost and share user data collected with competitors for free. Jill Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, said it's difficult to determine the impact of Google having to open up its search data until the terms are clearer. The News and Freedom Center said that Google licensing its search data would be "transformative" for news publishers as it would help them better understand their audience.