"Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that—no matter what occurs—Google always wins," the DOJ filing says. To that end, the government maintains that Chrome must go if the playing field is to be made level again.

In its latest filing, the DOJ argues that forcing Google to sell Chrome would break its grip on a key search gateway, opening the door for real competition. It also kept an earlier proposal to stop Google from cutting deals with companies like Apple, phone manufacturers, and Mozilla to lock in its search engine as the default.

The most eye-catching development is the increasing likelihood that Google could be forced to divest Chrome—yes, the Chrome browser that dominates over 60% of global web traffic. A Chrome breakup, once considered a fringe idea,