Sorry Google, There is No Getting Away From This One!
The global influence of the big tech
On October 20, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company “unlawfully maintains monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States.”
Google has now become synonymous with search engines. When I want to look up something on the internet now, instead of saying “I’ll search for it”, I say “let’s google it”
When a major player like Google is filed with a lawsuit for anti-trust, where do you go? It’s ironic because I had to google to read more about it!
What the Suit Says
The tech company has been accused of illegally protecting its monopoly from competition over online search services and the advertisements that run on them.
The suit accuses Google of harming its rivals by cutting exclusionary agreements with other tech giants like Apple and Samsung, making Google the default search engine on their browsers, thereby creating a cycle of dominance.
The case is the federal government’s most aggressive legal action in more than 20 years to confront a tech company’s market power since it took on Microsoft in 1998.
Google has a search monopoly, the lawsuit asserts, occupying 88% of the search market in the US. According to the complaint, the company has only three other competitors worth mentioning: Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo.
Why Should it Matter to Us?
“If the government does not enforce the antitrust laws to enable competition, we could lose the next wave of innovation. If that happens, Americans may never get to see the next Google.” — US Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen
We, as consumers have now been forced to accept Google’s policies, use of personal data, and privacy practices. And for years now, Google has been quietly pushing its own products on us.
Google has responded by claiming that the case is “deeply flawed”. The tech giant continues to defend itself by maintaining that its sector is highly competitive and that the company practices have the best interest of the customers.
But I don’t think we need data to support the fact that other search engines stand no chance next to Google! I mean, when was the last time you used Bing or Yahoo to look for a Japanese restaurant near you?
Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple dominate today’s digital world. They profit from our personal data, regularly stifle competition, and have control over information and news we access. So, the question arises, have we all unknowingly become slaves to the big tech companies? And is there any way of getting out of this spiral web?
I think It’s time to break up the Big Tech.
What’s next?
Let’s not be fooled, it will take years for Google and the government to reach a settlement. So, we’re not going to see the outcome any time soon.
But this definitely marks the beginning of a new era in policy.
One thing is for certain: The tech giants may be immune to a global pandemic like COVID-19, but they’re definitely not getting away with this one! Google will continue to face scrutiny for years to come.
