U.S. Justice Department files antitrust lawsuit against Google

[djbaxter]

U.S. Justice Department files antitrust lawsuit against Google​

Associated Press
Oct 20, 2020

The United States Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google for antitrust violations, alleging that it abused its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and harm consumers. The lawsuit marks the government's most significant act to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. It could be an opening salvo ahead of other major government antitrust actions, given ongoing investigations of major tech companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

"Google is the gateway to the internet and a search advertising behemoth," U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen told reporters. "But as the antitrust complaint filed today explains, it has maintained its monopoly power through exclusionary practices that are harmful to competition." Lawmakers and consumer advocates have long accused Google, whose corporate parent Alphabet Inc. has a market value just over $1 trillion, of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and boost its profits. Critics contend that multibillion-dollar fines and mandated changes in Google's practices imposed by European regulators in recent years weren't severe enough and that structural changes are needed for Google to change its conduct.

Google responded immediately via tweet: "Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to — not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."

The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., has long denied the claims of unfair competition. Google argues that although its businesses are large, they are useful and beneficial to consumers. It maintains that its services face ample competition and have unleashed innovations that help people manage their lives.

A recent report from a House judiciary subcommittee, following a year-long investigation into Big Tech's market dominance, concluded that Google has monopoly power in the market for search. It said the company established its position in several markets through acquisition, snapping up successful technologies that other businesses had developed — buying an estimated 260 companies in 20 years.

The argument for reining in Google has gathered force as the company stretched far beyond its 1998 roots as a search engine governed by the motto "Don't Be Evil." It's since grown into a diversified Goliath with online tentacles that scoop up personal data from billions of people via services ranging from search, video and maps to smartphone software. That data helps feed the advertising machine that has turned Google into a behemoth.

The company owns the leading web browser in Chrome, the world's largest smartphone operating system in Android, the top video site in YouTube and the most popular digital mapping system. Some critics have singled out YouTube and Android as among Google businesses that should be considered for divestiture.

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[Lachlan_Wells]

I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

What do you think the remedy should be for local search: Spin GMB? allow Yelp into the Local Pack? tax data scraped from competing platforms? allow anyone to scrape Google-sourced data (reviews, attributes...) and build a competing Maps app?

I think this is the truly interesting question, but it doesn't seem so easy to me.