{"id":140970,"date":"2020-12-24T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/in-google-antitrust-effort-authorities-may-have-saved-the-best-for-last\/"},"modified":"2020-12-24T17:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T14:30:00","slug":"in-google-antitrust-effort-authorities-may-have-saved-the-best-for-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/in-google-antitrust-effort-authorities-may-have-saved-the-best-for-last\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  In Google antitrust effort, authorities may have saved the best for last"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a326c3254dfe\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a326c3254dfe\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/in-google-antitrust-effort-authorities-may-have-saved-the-best-for-last\/#Third_of_three_major_antitrust_lawsuits_filed_against_Alphabet_could_be_the_most_important_for_determining_the_difficult_path_of_such_actions_against_Big_Tech\" >Third of three major antitrust lawsuits filed against Alphabet could be the most important for determining the difficult path of such actions against Big Tech<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/in-google-antitrust-effort-authorities-may-have-saved-the-best-for-last\/#Jon_Swartz\" >Jon Swartz<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  In Google antitrust effort, authorities may have saved the best for last<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Third_of_three_major_antitrust_lawsuits_filed_against_Alphabet_could_be_the_most_important_for_determining_the_difficult_path_of_such_actions_against_Big_Tech\"><\/span>\n  Third of three major antitrust lawsuits filed against Alphabet could be the most important for determining the difficult path of such actions against Big Tech<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000105078\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       The legal team at Google steadfastly swatted away two antitrust lawsuits like pesky flies, mere distractions as the search-engine giant chugs along and accrues record market value despite a pandemic.<\/p>\n<p> Then came suit No. 3.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       A bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>, spearheaded by Colorado and Nebraska, announced the lawsuit last week, and it goes much farther than its predecessors from the Department of Justice and Texas and nine other states. The most recent suit is broader and more far-reaching than those before it, which narrowly focused on Google\u2019s mobile search and ad-tech market.<\/p>\n<p>Alphabet Inc.\u2019s<br \/>\n        GOOGL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202490156\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.62%<\/bg-quote><\/p>\n<p>        GOOG,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205453964\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.69%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       response was swift and telling. It issued a stinging repudiation of the suit with a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/outreach-initiatives\/public-policy\/redesigning-search-would-harm-consumers-and-american-businesses\" class=\"icon none\">blog post<\/a> and accompanying slide show, and im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely scheduled a press briefing, actions it did not take when the first two suits were filed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe claims being made have been closely examined and rejected by regulators and courts around the world, including the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/public_statements\/statement-commission-regarding-googles-search-practices\/130103brillgooglesearchstmt.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">U.S. Federal Trade Commission<\/a>, competition authorities in Brazil, Canada and Taiwan, and courts in the United Kingdom and Germany, who all agreed that our changes are designed to improve your search results,\u201d Adam Cohen, director of economic policy at Google, said in the blog post.<\/p>\n<p>Why such an animated, concerted response \u2014 especially after it took Google nearly two months to reply to the original Justice Department filing?\u00a0Legal experts told MarketWatch the bipartisan suit led by Colorado and Nebraska poses a particular political threat \u2014 especially if it is combined with the much narrower Justice case, as  Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser hopes to do. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA combined case would add heft to the suit,\u201d  Vasant Dhar, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business, told MarketWatch. He called such a strategy new to antitrust actions but understandable given the animus  toward Big Tech. \u201cGoogle is in deep trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Colorado-Nebraska <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/coag.gov\/app\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Colorado-et-al.-v.-Google-PUBLIC-REDACTED-Complaint.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">suit <\/a>drills down on alleged anticompetitive behavior in Google\u2019s search and search-advertising businesses. It contends Google \u201cuses its massive financial resources to limit the number of consumers who use a Google competitor,\u201d especially in the mobile market, where Google is the default search engine on Android and the company pays <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le Inc.<br \/>\n        AAPL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202934861\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+1.09%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       billions of dollars annually to be the default search engine on iOS devices.<\/p>\n<p>The suit also claims Google leverages its search-advertising business, SA360, to limit competition by prohibiting interoperability, and the company \u201cthrottles\u201d those who attempt an end run around Google to reach sites, products and services directly. Google stymies these so-called \u201cspecialized vertical providers\u201d by blocking them from reaching potential customers, especially on mobile, the suit charges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the gateway to the internet, Google has systematically degraded the ability of other companies to access consumers,\u201d  Weiser, a Democrat, said during a Zoom<br \/>\n        ZM,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/211319643\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.41%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       conference call with reporters. His suit calls for \u201cstructural relief\u201d in the form of fines, penalties and injunctions, but he declined to comment on the potential to seek divestitures when asked by a reporter.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>As the lawsuits pile up against Google and its search-engine business practices, so do the costs and intellectual headaches associated with a raft of litigation. The explicit Colorado-Nebraska lawsuit, more than previous suits, illustrates \u201cgovernments catching up to years of activist and academic warnings,\u201d Frank Pasquale, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, told MarketWatch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bipartisan enforcement action of the state attorneys general is arguably more significant than previous lawsuits in that it strikes at the foundation of Google\u2019s dominance: its search results,\u201d contended Luther Lowe, senior vice president of public policy at frequent Google critic Yelp Inc.<br \/>\n        YELP,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/201334325\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+2.67%<\/bg-quote><span>.<\/span>\n      <\/p>\n<p>Added to the legal quagmire is the political calculus of Democrats such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal advocating the breakup of Google and Facebook Inc.<br \/>\n        FB,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205064656\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.72%<\/bg-quote><span>.<\/span><br \/>\n       \u201cSilicon Valley used to be the darling of Democrats, so this offers pause,\u201d  Douglas Gansler, an expert in antitrust law, told MarketWatch.  <\/p>\n<p>Which leads to another set of questions: How does the incoming Biden administration proceed next year with the Justice Department suit? Could a suit consolidating the Colorado-Nebraska filing and Justice cost Google billions of dollars in legal fees over the next few years?<\/p>\n<p>If Google\u2019s reply on Monday to the Justice lawsuit is any indication, expect a long court slog. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople use Google Search because they choose to, not because they are forced to or because they cannot easily find alternative ways to search for information on the internet,\u201d the company said in a defiant 42-page filing. The company\u2019s denial of the claims was granular, often offering sentence-by-sentence replies to the Justice Department\u2019s filing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more: Google forcefully rebukes U.S. antitrust lawsuit in first legal response<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The federal judge hearing the case, Amit Mehta, last week said the trial would not start until 2023. <\/p>\n<p>Given the complexity of the Colorado-Nebraska suit, and the possibility of it being consolidated with Justice\u2019s, the obvious parallel is the Justice Department\u2019s case against Microsoft Corp.<br \/>\n        MSFT,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/207732364\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.68%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       nearly three decades ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For more:  Big Tech was built by the same type of antitrust actions that could now tear it down <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cases against Google are very different and focus on questionable practices in the digital advertising marketplace, which is very opaque, and there\u2019s strong evidence that Google has been playing the role of the exchange operator as well as a participant \u2014 what [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren calls being a referee and having players in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> at the same time,\u201d  Dhar said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe digital advertising ecosystem has developed while regulators have been somnolent, allowing a Wild West ecosystem to develop where Google gets preferred treatment,\u201d Dhar said.<\/p>\n<p>How the federal and state governments fare in their suits against Google could go a long way toward determining the difficult path of antitrust actions against Big Tech. Facebook, like Google, faces federal and state suits, while Amazon.com Inc.<br \/>\n        AMZN,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/210331248\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.41%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       is under the scrutiny of European regulators. <\/p>\n<p><strong>See also: Big Tech has an antitrust target on its back, and this is where it is headed<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>Big Tech\u2019s reckoning comes as it continues to accumulate fabulous wealth during the pandemic. The combined market value of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Tesla Inc.<br \/>\n        TSLA,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203558040\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.14%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       Netflix Inc.<br \/>\n        NFLX,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202353025\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.48%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       and Google is about  $6.6 trillion, compared with $1.6 trillion in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the legal hurdle in proving consumers were harmed is likely \u201cinsurmountable,\u201d Gansler said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the harm to Google\u2019s customers? The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> is free, but is the consumer sacrificing privacy?\u201d Gansler said. \u201cThe data Google collects is used for targeted advertising, which arguably benefits the consumer. There is no direct cost to them, compared with the breakup of AT&amp;T<br \/>\n        T,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203165245\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.59%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       which billed customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adds Dhar: \u201cUsing a 19th-century regulatory framework to take actions in the 21st century will be hard to apply. Regulators have been asleep while Big Tech cleaned up [in revenue and market value.]\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>CUTS<\/p>\n<p>(The DoJ case focuses almost entirely on Google\u2019s search business, which Justice lawyers allege the company monopolized illegally for more than a decade through \u201cexclusionary agreements and anticompetitive conduct.\u201d) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> and presumptive Attorney General Doug Jones \u2014 whose most prominent cases were the successful prosecution of two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four African-American girls \u2014  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Jon Swartz\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jon_Swartz\"><\/span>Jon Swartz<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B21005575-02D4-D4B5-4572-D19A76E52041%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# In Google antitrust effort, authorities may have saved the best for last &#8221; Third of three major antitrust lawsuits filed against Alphabet could be the most important for determining the difficult path of such actions against Big Tech The legal team at Google steadfastly swatted away two antitrust lawsuits like pesky flies, mere distractions&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}