Suing Google; how the justice department plans to dethrone the largest search engine in the world
Since we were little, Google has been there for us. From learning what sound a cow
makes to cramming for your driving test the night before, Microsoft’s Google search engine is the hotspot for all knowledge anyone could ever want in their lifetime. But on October 20, the US Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Google for monopolizing the search engine industry.
According to the Justice Department, Google allegedly violated an antitrust law, called the “Sherman Antitrust Act,” put into effect in 1890. This act was established to combat Industrial Revolution-era monopolistic business practices, specifically on behalf of railroad tycoons like George Pullman and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Although rarely successful, many large corporations like AT&T and Microsoft have been found in violation of this act and, through a federal court trial, have been ordered to dissolve. But Microsoft, according to one Britannica article, pursued and gained a decision to overturn the dissolvement back in 2001, after their initial charge in 1999. AT&T was forced to dissolve and broke into smaller, more manageable companies after their order in 1984.
This graph, taken from recent survey of SJHS students, shows that 43.5% of students that don't use Google use DuckDuckGo. The next highest ranking search engine was Safari with 8.7%.
photo by aeryn hart
While Microsoft’s dispute with the government was a short affair, Google’s is looking to be more of a lingering experience. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has come under fire for breaking the above antitrust act. According to a Britannica article, “In the same year [1999]... a coalition of attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico announced coordinated antitrust investigations into alleged monopolistic practices by Google.” This inquiry was not completely closed as the Department of Justice has once again opened their investigation. But what does this mean for the average person?
According to a recent survey of 123 SJHS students, 102 of them use Google on a daily basis. But, of the total students surveyed, only 21, or 17% don’t use Google–instead, they use other search engines like Duck Duck Go, Bing, or Yahoo, among others. But why?
“For approximately every 5 searches, Oceanhero uses money from ad revenue to pay for the recovery of one ocean-bound plastic bottle,” says one SJHS student. This is true, and many other search engines (including GiveWater and Ekoru) are eco-friendly and are focused on improving the world, in one way or another.
If Google were to be found guilty of breaking this antitrust act, the company would be dissolved or split to prevent future market monopolizing. It does not mean Google would be gone for good, however, because it has influence in more than the search engine industries–software, being a prime example. For a final decision, follow the case at the Federal Department of Justice’s website.