Google gets hit with the biggest tech anti-monopoly lawsuit since the '90s
Googling Google... That's concerning. The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google yesterday, more than a year after its investigation started. The DoJ claims Google uses anti-competitive tactics to keep its search biz monopoly. It's the biggest US legal challenge to a tech company's reign since Microsoft got served in 1998.
- Google controls 90% of global search and 92% of smartphone search in the US, research finds. That's partly thanks to key deals with phone-makers.
- Android: Google has agreements to make sure its preloaded search app can’t be deleted from phones running its Android OS.
- Apple: Google pays Apple ~$10B a year to feed it search traffic and make itself the default on Safari.
Anything but Bing... Dominating market share isn't illegal — Google can't be punished for its success. Buuut: exclusionary moves that shut out competitors are illegal. That's why the lawsuit focuses on Google's exclusive deals with Apple. Losing that search pipeline would be so crushing that Googlers referred to it as "Code Red." If Google loses the suit, it could be forced to end deals or break up parts of its biz.
Google's monopoly doesn't hurt us... At least, not as clearly as traditional monopolies. The DoJ says Google's anticompetitiveness means less choice/innovation for consumers, and pricier ads for companies. Google's case: people choose to use its tools, from Search to YouTube to Gmail, for the value they provide — plus, Google's services are mostly free. That undercuts typical antitrust arguments anchored on price. The harm to consumers isn't as obvious.