November 8, 2024
USA Today recently released a special episode of The Excerpt podcast featuring Florian Ederer, the Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Markets, Public Policy, and Law, antitrust case against Google, which accuses the tech giant of monopolizing the online search and advertising markets.
The Department of Justice has initiated antitrust proceedings against Google in its search and advertising sectors, marking the most significant effort to break up a major corporation since the dismantling of AT&T in the 1980s. If successful, this case could fundamentally change how millions of Americans access information and utilize online services.
The lawsuit alleges that Google’s dominance, over 90% of the search market, has stifled competition and harmed consumers by raising prices and restricting alternatives. The ongoing case could lead to remedies, including breaking up parts of Google or implementing behavioral restrictions like banning exclusive contracts and promoting competition.
“This is a lawsuit and a trial that’s long in the making. This is not a super-recent development. This is actually a lawsuit that started in 2020, so it’s everything in antitrust moves relatively slowly. The antitrust lawsuit alleges that Google has monopolized the market for online search. That’s a violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which is one of the key parts of antitrust law in the United States” Ederer adds.
Despite the potential breakup, the broader economic impact will likely be limited, with innovations in AI likely to have a larger effect on online search.
