Too hard to ‘take down’ Google!

It is that strength that makes Google the next target of the US Justice Department. The suite claims to sue Google exclusively in the online search and advertising market. It is not clear what awaits Google, but Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said no possibility is ruled out.

If the Justice Department’s goal is to restrain Google, the big question arises as to how they do it. According to analytics website StatCounter, Google currently accounts for more than 92% of the global search engine market share, Google Chrome accounts for 66% of the world’s browser market share and nearly three-quarters of smartphones running Android.

Can people stop searching Google?

Google has both money and power. Photo: The Verge

The US Justice Department’s lawsuit mentions that Google is the default search engine across multiple devices. The company accuses the company of spending billions of dollars on web browsers, carriers and smartphone manufacturers to ensure its search engine is always on top.

But Google argues that their behavior is no different from promoting other businesses’ products. They compare themselves to a brand of cereals that pays a supermarket to put their items on certain shelves. Kent Walker, senior vice president for Google Global Affairs, criticized the Justice Department’s lawsuit as “fatal”. He insists that people use Google as their choice, not because of coercion or because they don’t find an alternative.

European regulators are at the forefront of the battle with Google when they fined the giant a total of more than $ 9 billion, forcing the company to let Android users choose the browser and search engine they want. use. Despite that, Google still holds 93% of the European search market as of September 20202, according to StatCounter.

The biggest problem is that most people turn to Google without bothering to find another tool, even when they have a choice.

It’s too difficult to produce a second Google

Stripping the power of one of the world’s largest companies – with a market value of over $ 1 trillion, infinite resources that’s been around for two decades – isn’t easy.

Sally Hubbard, director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institue, argues that the strength and scale of Google makes European measures ineffective. “Google is too powerful. The fines did nothing to them, ”she commented.

Another reason for Google to maintain its dominance in the online search market is the lack of a decent competitor and it is not easy to build a second Google.

In the lawsuit, the US Justice Department said that Google’s search index contained hundreds of billions of web pages and more than 100 million GB of data. To develop such a large index as well as a reliable search algorithm requires billions of dollars of investment.

The last company to match Google was Microsoft, but their Bing tool, even more than a decade ago, still failed. Bing is currently second after Google but only holds about 3% of the global Internet search market share.

What can government do?

One of the biggest strengths of Google is the huge amount of data anyone can get. That data is built up over the years, from clicks, keywords, from users searching … It helps Google predict almost exactly what the user will click on. According to Charlotte Slaiman, competition policy director at Public Knowledge, this is something that should be targeted.

The way to restrain Google ahead is not clear. Someone suggested reducing Google’s role in finding services that are strong points for competitors, such as Yelp (restaurants) or Expedia (travel). Slaiman argued that the US authorities could impose more measures for users to directly access such specialized services while limiting Google’s influence.

The US government can also follow Europe and ask Google to allow users to freely choose their favorite search engine on the device. However, considering the limited effects of the above measures so far, some experts have called for more drastic action.

According to Ms. Hubbard, to restructure and split Google. However, the Big Tech split has proven politically divided in the US. Slaiman pointed out that it is difficult for the court to approve the plan to force the company to divest from some business areas.

After all, taking down Google would be more difficult and time consuming than taking down any other company in history. It has been too long, enough for Google to accumulate and consolidate its special position in the market.

According to CNN