{"id":93915,"date":"2020-10-21T04:08:30","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T01:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/google-sued-by-doj-over-antitrust-practices-what-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2020-10-21T04:08:30","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T01:08:30","slug":"google-sued-by-doj-over-antitrust-practices-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/google-sued-by-doj-over-antitrust-practices-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"#Google sued by DOJ over antitrust practices: What you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Google sued by DOJ over antitrust practices: What you need to know<\/strong>”
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\n The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Google today, claiming the company has an illegal monopoly of search traffic. It\u2019s a major challenge to the dominance of the Big Tech companies \u2014 the first from the DOJ. But it\u2019s been coming on for a long time.<\/p>\n

The DOJ\u2019s complaint<\/a> is 57 pages long, but to sum it up, it contends that Google uses a series<\/a> of business deals and shady practices to kneecap any potential competition, calling it \u201ca monopoly gatekeeper for the internet.\u201d The deals it\u2019s made with App<\/a>le and other hardware manufacturers to make its search engine the default on so many machines gives it a whopping 80% of the market share. One line of the complaint contends that Google\u2019s dominance is so absolute that \u201cGoogle\u201d has become a verb that means \u201cto search for something on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s response is that its dominance is because of consumer choice, not because of anything illegal it\u2019s done. In a statement<\/a> issued this morning, Google\u2019s VP of Public Affairs Kent Walker refuted specific allegations that its agreements with other tech companies are the result of anything but competence on the company\u2019s part. \u201cPeople use Google because they choose to, not because they\u2019re forced to, or because they can\u2019t find alternatives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to \u2014 not because they’re forced to or because they can’t find alternatives. We will have a full statement this morning.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Google Public Policy (@googlepubpolicy) October 20, 2020<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the lawsuit succeeds, what would it mean for consumers? Google contends that it would \u201cartificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives, raise phone prices, and make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use.\u201d While the DOJ\u2018s complaint doesn\u2019t specifically address how it would change things for us, the users, it does say that, at the moment, \u201cAmerican consumers are forced to accept Google\u2018s policies, privacy practices, and use of personal data.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The DOJ first opened its investigation into Google last year, and had previously investigated the company in 2013 but opted not to sue it. U.S. Attorney General William Barr allegedly<\/a> opted to go against advice of the DOJ\u2018s lawyers in bringing the case this month \u2014 initially they\u2019d wanted more time to build their case. State attorney general<\/a>s in\u00a0Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas have signed on to support the lawsuit, and it\u2019s possible that other states could bring their own actions against Google.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that Google isn\u2019t the only company that\u2019s facing criticism from the American government. Earlier this year, the heads of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook<\/a> \u2014 a veritable Four Horsemen of Big Tech \u2014 sat in a hearing in July specifically over this issue. While the hearing was not the most productive \u2014 as my colleague\u00a0Tristan Greene pointed out, the congresspeople present seemed to want to talk about everything except antitrust regulation \u2014 at least one or two congresspeople said that the companies in general, and Google in particular, have \u201ctoo much power.\u201d Both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on that point, though I\u2019m not entirely sure they\u2019d agree on what breaking up that monopoly would look like.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Google has faced antitrust allegations, but it\u2019s the biggest of any of the lawsuits so far. It could presage antitrust laws being modified or expanded to account for Big Tech, but that would require the complaint to have some measure of success. In any case, it might have to take a backseat to the US Presidential Election taking place next month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n