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Tech Oct 22, 2020
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The Justice Department alleges Google has an illegal monopoly in search, setting up the biggest confrontation with a tech giant in more than 20 years. This week could mark the official end of the long love affair between Washington and Silicon Valley. The U.S. Justice Department and 11 state attorneys general have filed a blockbuster lawsuit against Google , accusing it of being an illegal monopoly because of its stranglehold on internet search.
The government alleged Google has come by its wild success — 80% market share in U.S. search, a valuation eclipsing $1 trillion — unfairly. It said multi-billion-dollar deals Google has struck to be the default search engine in many of the world’s web browsers and smartphones have boxed out its rivals. Just look at the word “Google,” the lawsuit said — it’s become “a verb that means to search the internet.”
What company can compete with that? Google’s head of global affairs, Kent Walker, said the government’s case is “deeply flawed.” The company warned that if the Justice Department prevails, people would pay more for their phones and have worse options for searching the internet. It will likely be years before this fight is resolved. After […]
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