The Department of Justice might be eyeing a big move: forcing Google to spin off its Chrome browser business.

Bloomberg says the DOJ isn’t stopping there—it’s also gearing up to ask a federal judge to slap Google with antitrust restrictions tied to AI and its Android mobile operating system.

So, why is Chrome in the crosshairs? 

The DOJ sees it as a major gateway for Google Search. With a commanding 61% share of the U.S. browser market (thanks, StatCounter), Chrome plays a starring role in how users interact with Google’s search engine—and, by extension, its ad empire.

This isn't a surprise to anybody who's run a web-based business that relies in part on search engine traffic from Google as one way to drive traffic to a website.

 I've done SEO for Spacelab since back in the early days, when I first started. 

The game has changed a lot over the years, but one thing has always been certain—Google has too much power over search engine rankings, the advertising market and the visibility of anybody's website to the general public. 

Chrome is the hub of all of these capabilities. It collects data on its users, and uses it to serve up ads to people. It has a lot of data, and that means a lot of power in the hands of one company.

I'm not big on regulation because it can sometimes get out of hand, and prevent innovation disruption.

I AM all for smart regulation tho, that once-in-a-while enforcement when companies become powerful enough that they can exert too much control on the public.

These proposed actions are the fallout of the DOJ’s landmark antitrust case against Google, which wrapped up earlier this year. 

In August, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust laws in the online search and search ad markets, cementing its web search monopoly in the U.S.