The problem with Google that we don't see

The US government sued Google. The Judge hearing the lawsuit ruled that this tech giant is a monopolist and acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. Now, a prospect looms of the ruling that, as a remedy, Google should be broken down into smaller firms. Google will, of course, appeal the ruling. Consumers may wonder what all the fuss is about when Google search is free and convenient. The risks monopoly behaviour poses to consumers aren't easily visible when the product is free. That makes it difficult for non-economists to see why Google's monopoly is problematic. Google has, in fact, long argued, and did so in the case too, that it's winning because it is good. Judge Amit Mehta, hearing the US government's lawsuit, ruled that this isn't how things are. Google's monopolistic practices Google has been paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple (which received $18 billion in just one year, 2021) and Samsung for making its search engine the default on their smartphones, devices, and web browsers. Judge Mehta ruled that Google maintains a monopoly over its competitors by making these payments, which is illegal. Why would Google pay through its nose to be the default search engine if it really was the automatic choice of consum

This article was originally published on October 01, 2024.