diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index 4d712d7e8e..eb61a8660f 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@
 [submodule "buildtools"]
 	path = buildtools
 	url = https://github.com/denoland/chromium_buildtools.git
-[submodule "third_party/zlib"]
-	path = third_party/zlib
-	url = https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/third_party/zlib.git
 [submodule "third_party/icu"]
 	path = third_party/icu
 	url = https://github.com/denoland/icu.git
diff --git a/.gn b/.gn
index cb0e1f2edb..fe81d5d7cc 100644
--- a/.gn
+++ b/.gn
@@ -30,7 +30,10 @@ default_args = {
   symbol_level = 1
   use_debug_fission = false
 
+  # Deno does its own snapshot compression using lz4 and zstd.
+  v8_use_zlib = false
   v8_enable_snapshot_compression = false
+
   v8_enable_javascript_promise_hooks = true
   v8_promise_internal_field_count = 1
   v8_use_external_startup_data = false
@@ -41,4 +44,5 @@ default_args = {
   # Check failed: read_only_blob_checksum_ == snapshot_checksum (<unprintable>
   # vs. 604745897).
   v8_enable_shared_ro_heap = false
+
 }
diff --git a/third_party/zlib b/third_party/zlib
deleted file mode 160000
index 9979c19f11..0000000000
--- a/third_party/zlib
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 9979c19f11314156490b53da91df08c934a3c0d4