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What an absurd argument by Google. Chrome can still be spun off into an independent US-based company, no harm to national security there.
this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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To me im not sure what the right answer is. Do I think Google is great? Not anymore. But that fact that they have significant presence with chrome and do invest heavily in android and chrome, I could see their arguement on selling. Without their investment, would updates come regularly? Would vulnerabilities be found as quickly?
One of the major pros unfortunately of massive companies and their technology is their investment in defending it.
And so so so many people and businesses rely on chrome by default.
If it weren’t for KDE and KHTML there wouldn’t be no Chrome. Just hand over the project to a non-profit foundation and the FOSS community.
Your just making more examples of why google shouldnt have control of chrome.
Also, is firefox any less secure then chrome?
Ohh boy Firefox is turning to shit too... They even rewrote their Terms of Use a couple of days ago after some backlash.
Don't get me wrong, I agree. What Im getting at is more of the "they have the funds and manpower to keep it up". I'm not saying it can't be done, just wondering what ifs.
While chrome is an extreme example, what I'm getting at is resources. Projects are very expensive. And they may require funding to upkeep. In other words, if sold off, it would need to be to a company of scale that could afford to continue to develop and maintain. Plus, My guess is if actually sold off, it would be under some deal that would allow Google to still influence. Whether that's like the Firefox deal to default to Google search or some other manner. Either way, I don't see a sale of chrome being a "win" without knowing other factors.
Edit: forgot to answer your other question. I don't see Firefox as less secure but tying back to my original text, they recieve a ton of funding. A lot of which is from their Google deal I believe among other things. Which i could see ending up happening if chrome were to actually sell too.
... you know there were a whole bunch of competing browsers before Chrome, right? Regular updates were not an issue.
And getting Google out doesn't mean Chrome itself just goes away.
Absolutely. What I'm saying is just speculative concern. Not necessarily a definite. All I'm really getting at is just the money power they have to actively develop, test, and maintain.
They didn't spend that money out of the goodness of their hearts.
Chrome's never even approached the Google Graveyard. It delivered everything they wanted.
Completely agree. But whatever their reason for pouring money into it, it did make a really good browser Google aside. So much so that it became basically the largest In the market.
Earning them a hearty congratulations, a pizza party, and the door.
They've strongarmed their way into being basically the only in the market. The worst abuses which could arise from that are already here. Whatever benefits the public might lose from their firehose of money, we must take our chances.