The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an effort to curtail Google’s dominance in the search engine market. Its proposal could reshape the landscape of Big Tech.
In an Oct. 8 filing, the DOJ called for the breakup of Google’s search business as part of its ongoing antitrust lawsuit, accusing the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly.
DOJ targets Google
The DOJ’s proposal seeks significant changes to break Google’s hold on search and advertising. It includes structural changes, such as separating parts of Google’s search business and behavioral changes aimed at protecting consumers and fostering competition.
One major aspect of the proposal is to prevent Google from leveraging its dominance to control emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
The DOJ also suggested that Google should be required to share search data and indexes with competitors and that websites should be able to opt out of having their content used to train AI models.
Additionally, the DOJ recommends establishing a “court-appointed technical committee” to oversee Google’s compliance with these new regulations.
Source: Adam Kovacevich
While none of these are set-in-stone measures, they are all up for consideration in the DOJ’s proposal.
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Google responded on Oct. 9 with a blog post defending its business practices and warning of the broader consequences for the tech industry.
“Government overreach in a fast-moving industry may have negative unintended consequences for American innovation and America’s consumers.”
However, this is not the only instance of Big Tech companies getting called out for their monopolizing business practices in the last year.
Why it’s happening
The DOJ’s move against Google is the culmination of years of scrutiny over the company’s search monopoly, which it maintains through exclusive deals with web browsers and phone manufacturers.
These agreements ensure Google’s search engine remains the default option for billions of users, stifling competition and innovation in the digital ecosystem.
As noted by the DOJ in its proposal, this stranglehold limits consumers’ choices and gives Google disproportionate control over the flow of information. On Sept. 23, the DOJ brought a similar case against the payments giant Visa, calling its tactics a payments monopoly.
However, in the case of Google and the greater Big Tech scene, there’s more to this than just search engines.
Big Tech under watch
Regulators are increasingly concerned about the role Big Tech companies play in shaping the future of AI, which is set to drive the next wave of technological innovation.
One fear is that Google’s dominance in search could translate into monopolistic control over AI as well. The more data Google collects, the stronger its AI models become, raising concerns about competition in the rapidly growing field of generative AI.
Already, regulators in the European Union have launched investigations into Big Tech companies, including Apple, Google and Meta, over violations of its Digital Markets Act back in March 2024.
In August 2024, regulators in the United Kingdom probed web services giant Amazon over its $4-billion investment in Anthropic AI, one of the industry’s leading models.
In its response to the DOJ, Google warned that dismantling its search business would affect its AI efforts and overall profitability, ultimately making it harder for the company to compete globally.
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