The US hopes to reduce its tech giants’ power. Thus, Congress questions market dominance from Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple. Critics say President Biden appointed some regulators for their hard stance on tech. However, the US Congress's efforts to tackle disinformation & privacy issues have stalled. Tech firms are scoring big wins in court, dodging responsibility for platform content, and acquiring startups.
But this week, they marked a new chapter. The US government is taking Google to court. In any case, US regulators argue that Google has maintained its status as the default search engine by luring phone-makers and web browsers such as Mozilla & Apple. The prosecutors argue this strategy gives Google an unfair data advantage. Covering about 90% of worldwide search queries, Google has effectively crushed any emerging competition and possibly violated various US business laws.
In general, the US filed the lawsuits in 2020 during the Trump era. It challenges how tech companies operated over the past decades. The lawsuit could be a crucial test to see if the United States government can rein over Big Tech. Some experts think the US regulators have a good shot. They compare the new lawsuits with the 1998 one against Microsoft. In simple words, the 1998 lawsuit found Microsoft guilty of monopoly.
Microsoft facilitated monopoly through anti-competitive & illegal tactics, such as pre-installing Internet Explorer. Supposing the regulators win the case, Google might lose its default search engine status. A win against the company will enable competitors like ChatGPT & Microsoft's Bing to gain more users and access critical data, offering consumers more options. However, victory for the government is not guaranteed.
Google insists that its product outclasses its competitors. Meanwhile, the company believes rivals could not secure more deals since they do not offer better products. Recent legal defeats from other tech cases also undermine the government’s lawsuit. On the other hand, critics like some Republicans blame the Biden administration for wasting money on lawsuits. But other lawsuits against Facebook's acquisition of Instagram & Google's ad business are also coming up.
Overall, the FTC plans to sue Amazon later this month. Anti-monopoly advocates noted that courts have slowly adapted but believe the tide is changing. Above all, all eyes are on the upcoming legal battles amid Google settling a US lawsuit over its app store. The regulators are not backing down in the broader fight to impose checks on Big Tech. They hope the law will offer clues about future cases for a competitive & accountable industry.
