By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
What the Google Monopoly Ruling Could Mean for You
The tech world is abuzz with what a landmark ruling by a US judge could mean a ruling that Google has illegally monopolized online search and associated advertising. A judgment, which came after four years of legal battling, represented an important moment, though Alphabet, Google's parent company, is expected to appeal, which may imply that the legal process may go on for some time.
The lawsuits are just starting to ruminate on what consequences that ruling may have, officials eye a number of remedies that include fines or, more complex, structural changes. In particular, the US government is said to be looking at "structural relief", which would range from a really dramatic step of breaking up Google into smaller entities a possibility that officials haven't ruled out totally.
How Far Reaching Was the Empire of Google?
Its influence extends far beyond the search engine. The company owns Android, too, the operating system that runs most of the world's smartphones today. There is also YouTube, which it also purchased in 2006, for $1.65 billion now raking in far more money yearly than what the search does.
One possible cure could be the separation of the search engine and making it an independent entity, so Google would retain other businesses. As Alphabet sees it, this could be a highly drastic measure; still, with Google remaining as the default search engine on devices at least to the end user everyday life would not change much.
"Any such move would undoubtedly be met with years of litigation and regulatory disputes, but it does seem more viable now than at any time in Google's history, " said Gareth Mills, Partner at the legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys. Mills said the judge would have to first decide whether to order the divestment of its search engine business or other corporate governance controls to rectify anti competitive practices.
Impact on Business Practice
Another area of concentration is the company paying other businesses to set it as the default search engine on their devices. For instance, Google reportedly pays companies like Apple hundreds of millions each year to make its search engine the default search option. Again, the judge agreed with this contention, suggesting that if Google was unable to pay such sums, rival companies may be given an incentive to develop their own search engines.
The problem is, this scenario does not play out so easily. With the brand equity that Google has built up, and a general aversion to changing one's search engine, it may be difficult for other engines like Microsoft's Bing to gain real traction. Apple, for example, could be seriously disrupted if their revenue stream from Google were impacted. Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst with Forrester Research, said that this could come as quite a whammy on Apple, especially considering that he estimated Google's payouts to the business were around $20 billion in 2022. "Any disruption to this revenue will have significant implications for Apple," Chatterjee said.
The Likely Impact
An easier move might be to add a choice screen for users. This would present new users with options for choosing what search engine they would prefer when setting up a browser or device. Although this might seem to be a functional solution, again, it is uncertain whether that really would significantly dent Google's dominant market share, given that over time the search engine has been very effective and popular.
The earlier chronicles of the internet, in retrospect, had a couple of search engines including Yahoo and Ask in present times known as AskJeeves plus less popular other entrants such as Lycos and AltaVista. In 2009, Microsoft launched Bing, but Google has continued to be a near monopoly.
The history of Microsoft with antitrust related problems provides a historic analogy. In 1999, Microsoft was judged to have become a monopoly, and in 2000, a court ruled that it must be broken up. However, Microsoft appealed and in 2001 the breakup verdict was tossed. It wasn't until 2004 five years after the original ruling that a settlement was reached with the US Department of Justice.
Looking Ahead
That judgment against Google could presage far broader regulatory change. Any future regulation could see far greater controls placed on Google's market practices, as with the EU's Digital Markets Act, which compels a "choice screen" on search engines from Android phones.
The outcome and broader implications of the ruling stay indeterminate, with the case far from decided as legal proceedings are sure to continue and appeals likely. How these events are finally worked out will be very interesting for both the tech industry and consumers, who will more than likely have a watchful eye on what the changes ultimately mean for the search and advertising landscape online.
