Google just got served. The Department of Justice (DOJ)
filed an antitrust suit against Google last Tuesday. This is
big. The tech world hasnât tangoed with antitrust on this scale since the government swung its axe at Microsoft back in â98.
Whatâs the allegation? The DOJ
claims Google uses anti-competitive tactics to hog the search engine limelight. Things like:
- Exclusive contracts to become the default search engine on devices.
- Sharing advertising revenue with manufacturers to lure them into these contracts.
- Preloading its (un-deletable) search app onto Android phones.
As a result, Google owns 90% of global browser usage. And the DOJ doesnât think Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo (I donât know what this is either) should go gently into that virtual night.
But Google doesnât want to hear it, calling the suit â
deeply flawed.â Its defense? People are free to download other search engines. Itâs not Googleâs fault they
choose not to.
The key to antitrust cases is consumer harm, and Google execs are sticking to the story they havenât caused any damage. According to
Fortune, Googleâs arguments include: a) its services benefit consumers; b) it has plenty of competition from Twitter and Amazon; c) its exclusivity contracts are no different to Coca-Cola buying prime shelf space at the grocery store.
THE TAKEAWAY
There are two ways a Google v. DOJ fight could go down:
-
Google loses and has to change up its business (like maybe selling off Chrome). Google calls this âCode Red.â
-
Google wins and dashes the governmentâs hopes of slaying other antitrust villains (Facebook, Amazon).
Orrrr⊠what happened in the EU might play out again i.e. Google is
fined billions for dominating the market and then continues to dominate the market anyway.
P.S. if the thought of 'Yahoo-ingâ stuff gives you anxiety, rest assured Google isnât being chopped up anytime soon. It took the government 3 years to reach an agreement with Microsoft.