Google Removes IAC Browser Extensions For Violation

Google Chrome, is one of the most frequently used browsers, but it has been subjected to criticism due to controversial changes, security problems, and data concerns.

Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Sunday that it has removed a number of browser extensions of online conglomerate IAC/InterActive Corp for “policy violations” and is reviewing “enforcement options.”

“We continue to have conversations with IAC related to Chrome Web Store policies and we have already removed a number of their extensions for violating our policies”, a Google spokesman said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it has to be decided whether to impose severe penalties on IAC over were the “deceptive marketing practices”.

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It confirmed that IAC misled users about its browser extensions and that the Alphabet unit could even ban those products from its Chrome browser.

The investigators found that IAC’s browser extensions often promise functions they do not deliver and lead users toward extra ads, citing sources and documents.

In the statement to Reuters, Google’s spokesman did not specify which precise policies it felt were violated by IAC and did not mention what exact options it was considering.

“There’s nothing new here – Google has used their position to reduce our browser business to the last small corner of the internet, which they’re now seeking to quash,” the statement added.

The IAC spokeswoman said Google had approved its extensions in the Chrome Store for years as part of the companies’ partnership agreement.

“Google exercises significant control over what we do with these products”, she said in the statement.