The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has spoken out in favor of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) plan to address Google’s alleged monopoly on online search. The plan “requires Google to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with certain competitors for a limited period of time,” according to the case, adding that the request is designed to “make this data available in a way that provides suitable security and privacy safeguards.”
It’s more than a run-of-the-mill fight. Rather, it’s a battle for the integrity of Google as a singular company. “The case could fundamentally reshape the internet by potentially unseating Google as the go-to portal for information online,” reported Reuters on May 9.
why now
Namely, because of AI. As Reuters wrote, “The DOJ and state attorneys general have expressed concerns that Google could extend its dominance to AI.”
Google has long held such a stranglehold on internet searches worldwide that it’s become a widely used verb of its own, to where “to Google” has become a verb synonymous with “to search.”
bIn the way that Netflix, Uber, Kleenex, and Band-Aid all became so closely identified with the market sectors they pioneered or dominated, so too has Google with internet search. So much so that the US government ruled on August 5, 2024 that Google is a monopolist.
As pointed out in the case, by 2020 nearly nine out of every 10 searches were performed through Google. That number rose to nearly 95 percent on mobile devices.
“The proposal is part of a range of measures the DOJ says are necessary to open up the online search market, after ruling in August that the tech titan holds an illegal monopoly,” said Reuters.
That’s not all. The DOJ and state attorneys general are also asking the judge presiding over the judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, and to stop paying Apple (and other companies) multi-billion dollar payments to set Google as the default search engine on many devices.
Google has spent a fair bit of time lately making news for its legal woes. It only just reached a $1.375 billion settlement with the state of Texas last week. And even that could end up being bumped onto page-two news if the DOJ’s plan for Google comes to pass.
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