The Department Of Justice Sued Google On Tuesday, October 20. The Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging the company unfairly stifles competition. The case was, in fact, in the making for some time as DOJ was investigating the search engine behemoth for about a year. The lawsuit objected to the way Google presets its search engine in collaboration with other big techs, most notably Apple Inc. Google pays about ten billion dollars a year to keep its search engine as a default option on Apple devices. Moreover, Google has integrated its search engine with its own Android operating system in a way that consumers find it difficult to try other options. In defense, Google’s chief legal officer, Kent Walker, said that his company’s practice is no different from manufactures paying stores premiums to display their products prominently.
In recent years, there is a bipartisan consensus in curbing the ever-growing power and influence of big techs. A virtual congressional hearing of the CEOs of four big tech companies was held in July of this year. Attorney General William P. Barr has repeatedly expressed his desire to try Google before the election day. In fact, since Microsoft antitrust case in 2001 Tuesday’s lawsuit is the most prominent one against any technology company. Despite bipartisan support in holding big techs accountable, some have criticized the hectic nature of Tuesday’s lawsuit, especially the timing of it just before the election. If the past is any indication of the future, it is expected the case would go on for years.
