DoJ launches antitrust suit against Google...beginning of the end for Big Tech?

[sancho panza]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/20/tech/doj-google-antitrust-case/index.html

The Trump administration is expected to sue Google on Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, in what is the largest antitrust case against a tech company in more than two decades.

In its complaint, the Justice Department is expected to make sweeping allegations that Google (GOOG) has stifled competition to maintain its powerful position in the marketplace for online search.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The landmark federal complaint follows a year-long antitrust probe by DOJ investigators. And it comes on the heels of a major congressional report finding that Google and other tech giants enjoy "monopoly power" and have wielded their dominance in anticompetitive ways. That report alleges that Amazon has mistreated third-party sellers; that Apple's app store fees and policies are anti-competitive; and that Facebook has sought to eliminate future rivals through targeted acquisitions.

 

The Justice Department's expected suit against Google marks the most consequential step the US government has taken to hold Silicon Valley to account after Washington took a dramatic turn against the tech industry following evidence that major social media platforms were manipulated by foreign election meddling efforts in 2016. Since then, the top executives of major tech platforms have been repeatedly hauled before Congress to face questions about their responsibilities toward political speech; hateful content and misinformation; small businesses and local journalism; and competition.

The looming case could pose an unprecedented risk to Google's wider advertising business, which brought in $134.8 billion in revenue last year, accounting for 84% of Google's total business.

Even as the Justice Department prepares to take Google to court over antitrust concerns, others in the tech industry could face lawsuits of similar magnitude. Officials at the Federal Trade Commission have been investigating Facebook for over a year, and that investigation could culminate in its own landmark litigation.

The pending Google suit also symbolizes the growing criticism, particularly by former Democratic presidential candidates including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, against historic levels of economic inequality and corporate concentration in the United States.

 

 

Hanging over the case too will be President Donald Trump, who has been vocal in his criticism of tech platforms.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Facebook, Google and Twitter for allegedly systematically censoring conservative views, a claim the companies deny and for which experts have found no evidence. Last year, Trump told Fox Business that "we should be suing Google and Facebook and all that, which perhaps we will, okay?"

Trump's remarks could complicate any lawsuit targeting the tech companies.

[BoSon]

Trump ain't gonna be president for much longer.

Even if he is, I expect a similar outcome to how they went after Microsoft when they deemed they had too much of a monopoly.

Worse case they have to bung them some cash via 'fines' or via lobbying like the NRA get away with.

[Loki]

Getting the narrative ready to explain when tech drops next year?

Without having to actually try and explain macroeconomics

It's easier just to blame DROLAND BLUMPF