This came as a shock to me! A recent court ruling found that Google holds an illegal monopoly in search and search advertising [4]. This means the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking for ways to weaken Google’s dominance and create a fairer playing field for competitors [3].
So I wondered what would happen and did some online research and found some potential outcomes:
- Restrictions on default placement: The DOJ might stop Google from paying phone and browser makers to have Google Search as the default option [4]. This could allow users to choose their preferred search engine more easily.
- Sharing search data: Google might be required to share some anonymous search information with rival search engines [4]. This data helps search engines improve their results over time.
These changes could make it easier for other search engines to compete with Google, potentially giving users more options and potentially lowering search advertising costs [2].
However, a complete breakup of Google seems unlikely at this point [4].
Overall, the DOJ lawsuit will likely make things more challenging for Google, but it probably won’t dismantle the company entirely. Still, this could be a significant turning point for internet search and online advertising [5].
Do you have any thoughts on the subject?
Sources
[1] Smith Experts Explain Google Antitrust Implications [2] Google Antitrust Lawsuits Explained [3] Google antitrust case explained: What’s next? [4] The likeliest outcomes from the Google antitrust trial [5] The Google vs. DOJ antitrust trial could …