Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

[CharminTide]

Google holds more than 80 percent of the market share in search across the board, with an even higher stake in the mobile search market, according to the DOJ suit. The company's dominance in search and the way it leverages its advertising business, its search business, the Chrome browser, and the Android operating system give the company gatekeeper status that it then uses unfairly to keep competitors out, the suit says. The suit also takes issue with the way Google Search is pre-loaded onto Android phones, from all device manufacturers and distributors, through an allegedly illegal tangle of exclusionary, interlocking contract agreements. The European Union fined Google more than $5 billion in 2018 over similar allegations.

Basic argument is that Google is an effective monopoly on internet search, and they maintain this status through anti-competitive practices: paying others (Apple, Mozilla etc.) to be the default search engine in their products, and requiring that any device running Android uses Google as the search provider.

It seems to be entirely related to internet search and advertising, but the DOJ leaves room to expand into their ongoing digital marketplace investigation that has entangled both Apple and Google.

Justice Dept. files long-awaited antitrust suit against Google

Landmark suit is biggest tech antitrust action since US v. Microsoft in the 1990s.

arstechnica.com

 

[Bamaro]

I dont have an opinion at this time if this is good or bad but I do know that as long as dancing don and that pathetic Barr are in charge, I wouldn't trust anything that they do.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Since we just signed up for Google Fiber and Youtube TV, my wife is worried about the effects of the suit on us...

 

[MobtownK]

I dont have an opinion at this time if this is good or bad but I do know that as long as dancing don and that pathetic Barr are in charge, I wouldn't trust anything that they do.

No one has seen Barr since the SCOTUS nomination....

ETA - Nevermind... he was in Memphis last week.

 

[Tug Tide]

I’ve read that a large part of the gov argument is the contracts with Apple and other carriers. I know on my iPhone it’s a simple as a few clicks in the settings and bingo...Google is no longer the default search engine