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Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google (cnbc.com) 144

According to The New York Times, the Justice Department is exploring whether to open a case against Google for potential antitrust violations (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source) relating to search and its other businesses, "putting renewed scrutiny on the company amid a growing chorus of criticism about the power of Big Tech." From the report: An investigation into how Google arranges search results could revive a case closed in 2013 by another government agency, the Federal Trade Commission. The five F.T.C. commissioners voted unanimously at the time against bringing charges against the company. Google agreed to make some changes to search practices tied to advertising. But this year, with a new antitrust task force announced in February, the trade commission renewed its interest in Google. In recent weeks, the commission referred complaints about the company to the Justice Department, which also oversees antitrust regulations, according to two people familiar with the actions. The commission has also told companies and others with complaints against Google to take them to the Justice Department.

The task force had been looking into Google's advertising practices and influence in the online advertising industry, according to two of the people. One of the people said the agency was also looking into its search practices. Most of Google's revenue comes from advertisements tied to its search results. If the Justice Department opens a formal investigation, it will be its first major antitrust case against a big tech company during the Trump administration. Google, Facebook and Amazon have come under intense bipartisan criticism, and calls to break up the firms have become a talking point in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

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Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google

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  • by Anonymous Coward

    Facebook next.

  • Time to pay up (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    It is a message from Trump to Google, time to contribute to his campaign.

    Most of us remembered how the antitrust investigation of Microsoft ended very soon after Bill & Bill had a golf game.

  • Per my sig, I think the best general solution approach involves increasing our freedom. That could be done with a progressive profits tax related to market share. Basic objective is to make sure there are at least 3 to 5 meaningful choices.

    Given the current state of Slashdot, that seems to be sufficient time, but I bid you ADSAuPR, atAJG.

  • Investigate Chrome (Score:4, Interesting)

    by xack ( 5304745 ) on Saturday June 01, 2019 @02:00AM (#58689656)
    The emerging chrome monopoly is worse than the IE one, and this time Mozilla is too weak to fight back.
    • by Dutch Gun ( 899105 ) on Saturday June 01, 2019 @02:56AM (#58689750)

      Interestingly, Google seems intent on giving Chrome users a good reason to switch to Firefox or other alternatives [slashdot.org].

      Unlike with desktop operating systems, browsers operate with standards-compliant content, so there's really no such thing as "lock-in", except for the ecosystem of plugins... which Google is planning to neuter.

      • as long as you don't do dirty tricks which isn't the case.

        https://news.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org]

      • by slack_justyb ( 862874 ) on Saturday June 01, 2019 @09:51AM (#58690766)

        browsers operate with standards-compliant content, so there's really no such thing as "lock-in"

        I hate to break it to you but Google has a lot of things they've put into their browser that isn't "standards compliant". If you'd like an example, just head over to any HTML5 validator and run YouTube through it. There's several JS APIs, element attributes, order of tags, shadow DOM, usage of iframes, and so on that Google does that follows zero standards except the one their engineers came up with. It runs because Chrome follows Google's standard because they implemented the client to render their stuff. If you head over to YouTube in Firefox and still see content, that's because their browser handles non-standard content fairly well with the fall-backs they have inside the browser. But yeah, let's not fool ourselves here. "Standards compliant" content only exists for thee and not for me when it comes to Google. They aren't the only one, but boy are they a big one.

    • It's not nearly as bad as the IE one, either in terms of ubiquity or abuse. However, Mozilla is much weaker than it used to be and Google is unlikely to make the same mistake that Microsoft did.

      The summary suggests that this is not about Chrome though.
    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      It's a weird monopoly when the reason it exists is that everyone else decided they couldn't be bothered to put in the work any more and were just going to use Google's code that they gave away for free.

      How do you fix it? Force Microsoft to keep developing Edge's HTML engine? Give Mozilla free money to hire more developers? Chromium is already open source, it's not like you can just take it away from Google's control and make it *more* open source.

      • This right here. Google has done tons for opensource tooling and mobile development. What does government do in return? Launch investigation after investigation wasting tax payer money and time. It's ridiculous.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Ah yes but it goes against the prescribed Slashdot Narrative that Google is pure, unadulterated evil and everything they do is 100% malicious and devious. The only reasonable course of action is to nuke it from orbit, and any suggestion otherwise is trolling.

      • You could legally separate the browser business from the advertising business, and from the mobile device business. Let the browser compete on an even field with the others, and let the ad business compete without having the ability to hamstring as blockers in the browser.

        That really wasn't a hard remedy to come up with.

    • Investigate Chrome for what? I mean yes the situation isn't ideal but what legal basis is there to intervene? Let's drop the bar lower, what legal basis would there be in Europe to intervene?

      Being a monopoly isn't of itself illegal.

      • Google has a monopoly on search it leverages to enter other markets. They are absolutely an abusive monopoly.
        • Google Chrome forces you to use Google search engine? Tel it to my alternative browser (my main browser is Firefox - both uses DDG as this default search engine...)
        • Google has a monopoly on search it leverages to enter other markets. They are absolutely an abusive monopoly.

          Cool story, all of which is not at all relevant to Chrome. Being an abusive monopoly is not illegal. Specific abuses of your market position in specific circumstances is.

      • Good point here - it is not like Google makes it hard to install other browsers on Android, and make it the default browser to open; there are a wide assortment of them on the Play Store, and you can install browsers from outside the play store after clicking a checkbox in the security settings.
        • I even use Firefox on Android (and Opera Mini on slow/old devices): Google Chrome is a too resource hungry browser for smartphones/tablets...
      • Being a monopoly isn't of itself illegal.

        This statement isn't of itself meaningful.

        Investigate Chrome for what?

        Investigate Google for leveraging their position in the web space with Chrome dominant over all other browsers for using it in an anticompetitive fashion, e.g. disrespecting standards which then compromises all other browsers' effectiveness.

        • This statement isn't of itself meaningful.

          It is on Slashdot, where people think that every natural monopoly must be broken up or investigated or fined solely for existing.

          Investigate Google for leveraging their position in the web space with Chrome dominant over all other browsers for using it in an anticompetitive fashion, e.g. disrespecting standards which then compromises all other browsers' effectiveness.

          Actually they don't disrespect standards. That's kind of the problem. Chrome is standards compliant. Their big problem with standards is that they have the market power to direct the standards, but on the basis of standards then being openly published they have a great defense against any antitrust allegations brought against them.

          This case will go no where. Especially not in the

    • Mozilla is worlds stronger than the dark days of IE.

    • I don't use Chrome, but things aren't anywhere near as bad as they were in the heyday of IE dominance. For starters, Chrome is open source; IE wasn't.

      And Firefox is in a much stronger place to challenge them, at least in theory. Most people don't seem to realize that they pull in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue. I happen to think that they've been badly misapplying themselves in recent years, copying Chrome and ignoring the needs of power users, and I recommend people use Waterfox [waterfoxproject.org] inste
    • The emerging chrome monopoly is worse than the IE one

      In the days of IE5/6, there is no working alternatives (even Safari was barely usable at the time...), now there's Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc... What are you smoking?

    • since there's Chromium and Chrome follows open standards. If Google kneecaps the Chromium build and starts using closed standards (as opposed to using their market share to bully folks into adopting their particular standards) then yeah, it'll be IE all over again.
  • by astrofurter ( 5464356 ) on Saturday June 01, 2019 @02:31AM (#58689716)

    Did Big Brother Google really think they could get away with buying up dozens of companies, then using their monopoly power to stifle free speech?

    The American people spoke, President Trump listened. Get ready for it, googledouches. The ghost of Teddy Roosevelt is dusting off his trust-busting stick.

    • Did Big Brother Google really think they could get away with buying up dozens of companies, then using their monopoly power to stifle free speech?

      In America? Yes. And they will. The investigation will be opened, and will be looked at according to the American standards of Antitrust. Those standards are far higher than those of the rest of the world and typically require proof of direct impact to consumers as a result. Business > Business relations rarely make it to court, and crap like advertising is even less likely.

      Make no mistake, this is going to go nowhere. Google's only foe is outside of America where governments and laws actually have teeth

    • by DewDude ( 537374 )
      Get the fuck off your high horse man. This isn't Teddy dusting off the trust-busting stick. This is baby Trump throwing a Tantrum because he doesn't like Google.

      If this was really about anti-trust...he'd go after Comcast, he'd go after Disney, he'd go after Time Warner. But no, the only time he mentioned anything about Time Warner was blocking because of CNN....directly threatening action against an organization for what they say in direct violation of free speech.

      But you'll just sit there...you'll say t
    • President Trump listened.

      It seems wishful thinking to me :P

    • by Jahoda ( 2715225 )
      The American people spoke, President Trump listened. Get ready for it, googledouches. The ghost of Teddy Roosevelt is dusting off his trust-busting stick.

      I don't even really have to address the stupid in this comment. Just that what I will tell you is that at the very most Donald Trump has five years, and if you think Google can't handle five years of litigation standing on its head, then I guess you don't really have much experience with antitrust action in this country the last 50 years. Google'
  • stop harassing American companies! I mean if they can't build tech companies of their own all they can do is endlessly investigate and litigate.

  • When a company formerly providing a ubiquitous service at least reasonably objectively begins to demonstrate behaviour and motives that are grossly political, it is fairly predictable that when the target of their shenanigans is the party in power, the tools of government will be applied against them.

    This is why most companies wisely avoid political stances. Of course if one is arrogant enough, self righteous enough, or oblivious enough (in a Pauline Kael sense) or all 3...well, you have a Google.

  • I dont believe they will. Money talks, after all. Even to the justice department. I hope they do, but will not be surprised if we never hear of this again.

  • A few alterations of Google's travel plans should make the whole thing go away.

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