Opinion
Mint Quick Edit | Google’s search monopoly ruling: Error 404?
Summary
- A US judge ruled Google’s search monopoly illegal for forging pacts to install it as a default engine on devices—like Apple’s iPhone. Free-market mavens cite the rise of AI chatbots as evidence of the self-corrective power of markets, but does this mean antitrust authorities mustn’t intervene?
With countries around the world trying to rein in Big Tech, the latest antitrust ruling in the US against Google marks a big victory for regulators—the last big one having come when the US Justice Department took Microsoft to court in 1998.
On Monday, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws through an illegal monopoly in the search engine market. Google spent billions of dollars ($26.3 billion in 2021 alone) to secure its position as the default search engine on various devices and platforms, tilting the playing field against other players.
Also read: Google’s antitrust loss set to reshape search and mobile industries
Two other cases against Google are on the cards, including an antitrust lawsuit related to online advertising. Free-market advocates who insist markets can fix their own flaws often argue that judicial intervention is needless, given how technological innovation tends to overthrow monopolies.
Right now, AI chatbots are seen as a threat to Google’s search dominance. There is some truth to this, but we mustn’t depend solely on upheavals of technology to keep tech markets open and competitive, given the winner-takes-all dynamics of digital fields. By the time chatbots displace Google Search, it may be too late.
