Antitrust laws are simply laws put in place to prevent monopolies. These laws according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary define them as "consisting of laws to protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraints and monopolies or unfair business practices"
In the past, these laws have been used against huge corporations such as Microsoft and their "Internet Explorer" web browser. Since every Windows computer came with the browser pre-installed, the Justice Department argued it had an unfair advantage over other web browsers and won the case against Microsoft. This judgment helped many other companies including Google founded a year later.
Now the time for Google to face that same fate seems near. On Tuesday, 20th October the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Google accusing it of engaging in anticompetitive practices similar to those of Microsoft. The lawsuit goes into detail about partnerships among others that have made Google accountable for 80% of search queries on the internet, in the USA.
Integellencer writes " the DOJ argues that the company takes the windfall profits that it reaps from its dominance of search advertising and invests them in paying mobile-phone manufacturers, carriers, and web browsers to make Google their preset search engine — which only increases Google’s search dominance and thus its ability to further lock out competitors through similar business arrangements. The suit also takes issue with Google’s practice of making its search app undeletable on its own Android operating system. Taken together, the government argues that these deals erect insurmountable barriers to competing search engines, leaving Google with the power to dictate terms to advertisers and consumers."
Google on the other hand argues that “people use Google because they choose to — not because they’re forced to or because they can’t find alternatives.”
It is only a matter of time until we see the court’s verdict and the effects of this verdict brings on tech companies.
Source: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/doj-google-antitrust-lawsuit-explained.html
4 comments:
I think that Google's argument is a fair one. Most people simply choose to use it. "Googling" something has even become associated with doing a search on the web/online, even when Google online search itself is not used. However, despite being a very large, dominant, and popular tech company, it still should be subject to anti-trust laws in order for competition to persist in the market and in order for somewhat of a balance of power to exist. What I am wondering is what effects could the verdict have on internet users and consumers of digital platforms by Google.
It is interesting that the Department of Justice is willing to launch such an ambitious lawsuit of Google. As the biggest antitrust lawsuit of its type, it will be interesting to see the precedent this case has on other Silicon Valley tech companies. Given that these large tech companies are frequently purchasing and acquiring each other, it seems there is a unique sense of competition in this industry. Whether or not this "competition" is worth regulating through anti-trust laws seems debatable, as the fact that Google makes its software the default on Androids does not seem particularly nefarious. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how this affects the public perception of large tech companies, as it will likely increase mistrust.
I agree with Max that it will be intriguing to see how this case is handled as it will set a precedent for future cases. I think thats Google's dominance has not been due to a lack of competent competition, but rather the fact that Google is such a well-known, household name. I think where this issue really needs to be addressed is with entry into the market. A big company like Google is able to wipe out any smaller competition and this generally incentivizes smaller companies to sell out into a bigger company like Google. This can hurt the innovation of a market and in turn the consumers in a market. I think that this should be the main issue addressed in this lawsuit.
I agree with Marya that Google’s argument is truthful. I know I personally always choose Google for my search engine. But the lawsuit is also fair because Google is such a huge company and leaves very little room for sustaining competition to be achieved. It will be interesting how this case is handled and what it means for the future.
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