|
|
|
|
August 21, 2025
|
Hackers Infiltrate Alleged North Korean Operative’s Computer, Leak Evidence of...
|
|
August 21, 2025
|
OpenAI Presses Meta for Evidence on Musk’s $97 Billion Takeover Bid
|
|
August 15, 2025
|
ChatGPT Mobile App Surpasses $2 Billion in Consumer Spending, Dominating Rivals
|
|
August 15, 2025
|
Gemini Seeks IPO on Nasdaq Despite Deepening Losses
|
|
|
Ecosia Proposes Unusual Stewardship Model for Google Chrome
August 21, 2025
Ecosia, the Berlin-based nonprofit search engine, has made an audacious pitch: instead of forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser, it wants to be granted a 10-year stewardship of the platform.
On Thursday, Ecosia announced that it had sent its proposal to both Google and U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who is expected to soon decide on remedies to his 2024 ruling that Google holds an illegal monopoly in search and advertising. Among the remedies proposed by the Department of Justice is the possibility of requiring Google to divest Chrome, a browser that controls around two-thirds of the global market.
Several companies have expressed interest in acquiring Chrome should a divestiture be ordered. OpenAI has signaled willingness to bid, while Perplexity recently floated an unsolicited $34.5 billion cash offer. Analysts, however, suggested that Chrome could be worth hundreds of billions — possibly over $1 trillion in revenue across the next decade.
That valuation makes Ecosia’s proposal striking. Rather than pay, Ecosia is asking for control of Chrome at no cost, with the condition that 60% of its revenue be directed toward environmental projects. These would include reforestation, rainforest protection, prosecuting polluters, and investments in climate-friendly technologies, consistent with Ecosia’s mission. The remaining 40% — potentially $400 billion, based on Ecosia’s projections — would go back to Google.
Ecosia says it would preserve existing Chrome jobs, allow Google to retain intellectual property rights, and even let Google remain the default search engine. After 10 years, Chrome’s stewardship could be reassessed or transferred.
Christian Kroll, Ecosia’s founder and CEO, defended the unconventional idea: “We would be happy to manage Chrome for them. It’s not absurd, right?”
Founded in 2009, Ecosia already operates its own browser based on Chromium, the same open-source code that underpins Chrome. It also has a longstanding revenue-sharing partnership with Google to power its search. Kroll says this existing relationship makes Ecosia a credible candidate to manage Chrome responsibly while directing its profits toward global sustainability goals.
Still, the bigger ambition may be to push the court to think beyond traditional remedies like a sale or spin-off. “We hold a track record of making impossible things possible,” Kroll said. “Should we get the judge thinking, who knows what might come out of it?”
|
|
|
Sign Up to
Our Newsletter!
Get the latest news in tech.
|
|
|
