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Justice Department sues monopolist Google for violating antitrust laws

20 points by hhs 6y ago

hhs 6y ago
Please note, there’s a 64-page complaint attached.
CarCooler 6y ago
This had to happen, the other case of monopolizing the Digital Ad industry would also hurt them.
azinman2 6y ago
Doesn’t this title presume guilt before being charged with it? Given the states and Barr, this feels deeply political in nature.
- rolal 6y ago
  I thought it was weird that the list of states seemed to also be the list of battleground states that Trump needs to win.
- ivraatiems 6y ago
  It's definitely political in nature in terms of timing, but it's also been a long time coming. The main reason there aren't more left-leaning states on the lawsuit is that they wanted to wait a little longer and build more of a case: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/justice-department-google-antitrust-democrats-429983 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/justice-department-... My hope is that DOJ doesn't blow this because they went too early. This is the level of investigation of large tech companies I have wanted for a long time.
- jlgaddis 6y ago
  It is deeply political! It was filed by the Trump administration's DOJ and 11 states -- and the attorney general of each of those 11 is a Republican. However... There's also (supposedly) another lawsuit by a bunch of Democratic states that is in the works (and, of course, several lawmakers from both parties are also on board the "break up Google (and other big tech companies)" train). If (i.e., when) that happens, the lawsuits will likely be consolidated.
merricksb 6y ago
Active discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24836520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24836520
cwhiz 6y ago
Finally! Break Google up until no single company has more than 30% of the search, mobile OS, maps, or browser market. Dozens of pieces, if necessary.
1MachineElf 6y ago
The cynic in me would not be surprised if this resulted in a worse internet. On the flip side, some of these charges could lead to un-googled Chrome and Android. But if Microsoft does with Android what they did with Edge/Chromium, then is that really better?

20 points by hhs 6y ago

hhs 6y ago

Please note, there’s a 64-page complaint attached.

CarCooler 6y ago

This had to happen, the other case of monopolizing the Digital Ad industry would also hurt them.

azinman2 6y ago

Doesn’t this title presume guilt before being charged with it? Given the states and Barr, this feels deeply political in nature.

rolal 6y ago
I thought it was weird that the list of states seemed to also be the list of battleground states that Trump needs to win.
ivraatiems 6y ago
It's definitely political in nature in terms of timing, but it's also been a long time coming. The main reason there aren't more left-leaning states on the lawsuit is that they wanted to wait a little longer and build more of a case: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/justice-department-google-antitrust-democrats-429983 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/justice-department-... My hope is that DOJ doesn't blow this because they went too early. This is the level of investigation of large tech companies I have wanted for a long time.
jlgaddis 6y ago
It is deeply political! It was filed by the Trump administration's DOJ and 11 states -- and the attorney general of each of those 11 is a Republican. However... There's also (supposedly) another lawsuit by a bunch of Democratic states that is in the works (and, of course, several lawmakers from both parties are also on board the "break up Google (and other big tech companies)" train). If (i.e., when) that happens, the lawsuits will likely be consolidated.

merricksb 6y ago

Active discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24836520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24836520

cwhiz 6y ago

Finally! Break Google up until no single company has more than 30% of the search, mobile OS, maps, or browser market. Dozens of pieces, if necessary.

1MachineElf 6y ago

The cynic in me would not be surprised if this resulted in a worse internet. On the flip side, some of these charges could lead to un-googled Chrome and Android. But if Microsoft does with Android what they did with Edge/Chromium, then is that really better?