Discussion

• Vox Shirin Ghaffary on x

  Why the US government is suing Google

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  DoJ on Google: “Google uses cash from online advertising to buy default search placement, outbidding small, impoverished startups like (checks notes) Microsoft, and, um...”

• @jamestitcomb James Titcomb on x

  Well done to Google for absolutely making the DOJ's point that defaults matter https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...

• @danieltrichards Daniel T. Richards on x

  Monopoly thwarted in 14 seconds. Worst monopoly ever. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @kateconger O...K on x

  Google to employees: Please stay focused and definitely don't send slacks/emails about antitrust https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  Google's response to the US antitrust lawsuit calls it “deeply flawed” and points out what Microsoft does with Bing on Windows https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...

• @ericgarland Eric Garland on x

  There are so many counterintelligence implications of Google's activities of late...I wonder if breaking up the company now might hinder any potential discovery in future investigations... #HINT https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @beuc @beuc on x

  This is big news and it's good to see that the US follows suit on EU's #Google cases. Important: Time is of the essence here before the harm is irreversible. Focus on remedies is important. cc @TACD_Consumers https://twitter.com/...

• @ardwashington ARD Washington on x

  “It has been a long time coming” - Das U.S. Justizministerium startet ein Monopolverfahren gegen #Google. #bigtech https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @ericliptonnyt Eric Lipton on x

  First story in what is going to be an epic battle: U.S. to Accuse Google of Protecting Illegal Monopoly https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x

  “Yes, like other businesses, we pay to promote our services, like a cereal brand might pay a supermarket to stock its products at the end of a row or on a shelf at eye level.” People don't know this and they think it's a bad thing when they find out. https://blog.google/...

• @geoffreyfowler Geoffrey A. Fowler on x

  Stunning stat: Apple reaps up to 20% of worldwide net income from Google revenue — and Google at one point in 2019 attributed almost half of its search traffic as having originated on Apple devices https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @nytimes @nytimes on x

  The lawsuit comes two weeks after Democratic lawmakers released a sprawling report on tech giants, saying they had turned from “scrappy” start-ups into “the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons.” https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @nytimes @nytimes on x

  In a lengthy post on its website, Google responded that the lawsuit would elevate “artificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives” and argued that consumers use Google because they want to, not because they have to. https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @dcjohnson Dave Johnson on x

  I choose to use Comcast because there isn't any other way to get cable. I choose to use PGE because there isn't any other way to get gas and electricity. https://twitter.com/...

• @nytimes @nytimes on x

  Seven additional states may separately sue Google, on top of the 11 states that joined the Justice Department lawsuit, the New York attorney general announced. They are: Colorado Iowa Nebraska New York North Carolina Tennessee Utah https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x

  3) also can't shake the inconsistency of this argument from google - if people prefer google because it's better and if it's really easy to change defaults, then WHY bother spending billions of dollars to make sure you are the default option for iPhones and other devices

• @nytimes @nytimes on x

  Google, which has some very particular rules about what workers can say about antitrust, had a message for employees today: Stay focused and stay quiet. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x

  After being called a “monopolist” by the DOJ, Google execs tell employees to stay focused and keep your mouth shut https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @proffionasm Fiona Scott Morton on x

  Solid complaint, well written. Not much that's new. Looks to me like the EC Android case from 2016. Good we have caught up to 2016. Time to get to 2020. https://twitter.com/...

• @mathewi Mathew Ingram on x

  Hard to reconcile the statement “we're not a monopoly, we don't restrict the consumer's ability to choose” with the fact that, according to the DoJ's antitrust case, Google pays Apple about $10 billion to make it the default search engine on all devices https://www.techmeme.com/.…

• @mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x

  Google's “bigger point” here is both true and perhaps not as dispositive as they think. ~~the best~~ search engine is the one with a ton of users and a ton of user data, that powerful network effect gives Google market power worth scrutinizing. https://blog.google/... https://twi…

• @wsjtech @wsjtech on x

  Google, known for its search dominance, is a powerhouse in online advertising, mobile phone software and many other areas. Here's a look at why its businesses are under so much scrutiny. https://www.wsj.com/...

• @matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x

  Bill Barr is clear that the DOJ is filing the Microsoft suit, but with a keyword find/replace of Windows and Internet Explorer with Google, Chrome/Android. https://www.justice.gov/...

• @stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x

  What's the betting each of the big four hit by antitrust action is going to point at at least one of the other three as ‘proof’ they're not as bad as everybody else 😂 https://twitter.com/...

• @kent_walker Kent Walker on x

  We're confident a court will conclude this suit doesn't square with the facts or law. In the meantime, we remain focused on delivering the free services that help Americans every day.

• @karissabe Karissa Bell on x

  This from Google's response to the antitrust suit is.. misleading at best. Google also pays Apple billions of dollars to be the default search engine on iPhones https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...

• @romaindillet @romaindillet on x

  Google: “It's trivially easy to change your search engine in our browser, Chrome.” Also Google: Let's share a GIF that shows menus hidden behind right clicks, three-dot symbol, etc. https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...

• @kent_walker Kent Walker on x

  US antitrust law should help consumers, but the DOJ's deeply flawed lawsuit could raise phone prices and make it harder for people to get the services they want.

• @alistairmbarr Alistair Barr on x

  Google says consumers choose its Search engine over rivals, so why does it pay ~$15B a year to make this product the default on browsers and phones? If the US gov has it's way, those deals may disappear https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @technology @GerritD

• @keachhagey @keachhagey on x

  Craziest stat in DOJ's Google suit: Google's payments to Apple to be default search amount to 15-20% of Apple's global profits. via @realrobcopeland @timkhiggins https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ

• @alecstapp @alecstapp on x

  Important point: If Google needs to pay Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on Apple devices, that's indicative of Apple's market power over distribution, not Google's. https://twitter.com/...

• @sandeepvaheesan Sandeep Vaheesan on x

  Great excerpt in U.S. v. Google on how Google shares its monopoly profits with Apple. Google pays billions for exclusive pre-installation on Apple devices—payments that are as much as one-fifth of Apple's annual net income. https://twitter.com/...

• @toddbishop @toddbishop on x

  Compared to the antitrust complaint against @Microsoft 2+ decades ago, the introduction to @TheJusticeDept's @Google complaint today reads more like a magazine piece. https://twitter.com/...

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  DoJ: “Apple dominates search traffic in the USA, and Google is so afraid of losing this traffic it gives Apple $10-15bn a year. Therefore we're suing (checks notes) Google, and, um...”

• @baekdal Thomas Baekdal on x

  Mind you, I actually think the problem here is more to do with Apple than with Google. It's Apple's dominance of the mobile space that is creating this problem. So if Google is prevented from doing this, nothing stops Apple from just selling it to someone else.

• @asymco Horace Dediu on x

  “Nearly half of Google search traffic in 2019 came from Apple products” 🤔 Should I file this under “Apple is Doomed” or “Apple is a Monopoly”? Perhaps both.

• @alecstapp @alecstapp on x

  The complaint makes a lot of hay out of Google's deal with Apple to be the default search engine on Safari. Of course, being the default helps increase market share. But Tim Cook has also said that Google is the best search engine. Should the default be an inferior product? https…

• @aaronwall @aaronwall on x

  https://www.wsj.com/... “Though Google and Apple have been tight-lipped on how much their deal is worth, the lawsuit projects that it accounts for between 15% and 20% of Apple's annual profits” Warren Buffett once described Apple's iPhone as a real estate play for user attention

• @matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x

  This is a Google antitrust suit but it may take away 20% of Apple's profits. https://twitter.com/...

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x

  Everytime Apple says privacy is a human right, I remember this stat. https://twitter.com/...

• @bzamayo Benjamin Mayo on x

  It's easy to laugh off the Apple default search deal because at the end of the day, people want Google. But imagine Bing won the bidding war instead ... everyone would be furious. https://twitter.com/...

• @tapbot_paul Paul Haddad on x

  I think most people would agree that Google is the only search engine that makes any sense as default for iOS. So why do they even bother paying Apple any money? What leverage does Apple have over Google here?

• @hoeglaw Richard Hoeg on x

  Appears to be the way of things nowadays. They just assume that journalists and Twitter folks will make it a few pages in and they want some gloss up front. See Epic v Apple or even the Antitrust Subcommittee digital antitrust report. https://twitter.com/...

• @edmundlee Edmund Lee on x

  @andrewrsorkin if anything, the reverse could be argued: Apple is using its market dominance to extract terms from Google and even if it were banned, chances are phone makers would default to Google, or absent any default, consumers would choose Google

• @tapbot_paul Paul Haddad on x

  Doesn't Apple have a moral obligation to default to the “best” search engine for its users? Where “best” isn't defined by whoever pays them the most money.

• @yanche Michael Y. Lee on x

  @sandeepvaheesan To me it reveals how fragile their dominance is that they'd feel the need to pay apple billions for making them the default search engine on iPhones

• @adamkovac Adam Kovacevich on x

  4. All deals were the result of competitive bidding (mostly vs. MSFT) 5. Search deals benefit consumers by cross-subsidizing platform and content development costs 6. Google search so preferred by consumers that platforms face blowback over non-Google search defaults 9/

• @tsgiles Tom Giles on x

  The idea of Google and Apple working as if they are “one company” is pretty much the worst-case scenario in the mind of an antitrust regulator. I'm old enough to remember Googlezon. https://twitter.com/...

• @adi @adi on x

  @tapbot_paul I'm flumuxed that you're even asking this. They could make Duck Duck Go the default, wrap a privacy story around it, and cost Google billions. That's a *lot* of leverage. And just one example.

• @pt Parker on x

  @mathewi Because Apple's alternative is to take $8B from Microsoft. Apple was never going to give that real estate away for free. If you made it illegal for them to sell it, you think they wouldn't pick Google still?

• @keachhagey @keachhagey on x

  Interesting focus of expected DOJ case: how Google's market share preservation moves, like paying Apple $$$ to be default iPhone search, deprive competitors of enough data to make their products work very well https://twitter.com/...

• @stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x

  “if lost, would result in a “Code Red” scenario. That's because nearly half of Google search traffic in 2019 came from Apple products, according to the lawsuit” 👀 https://twitter.com/...

• @dhh @dhh on x

  But Google (and Apple and Amazon) are all many times stronger than Microsoft ever was at its zenith in the 90s. We're extremely unlikely to see a repeat of an obstinate Gates pissing directly at the legal system, making the villainy so easily attackable. https://www.youtube.com/.…

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  (I am also slightly puzzled by the idea that Mozilla or Apple, or any random company, are not allowed to sell the default search slot to Google.)

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  The funny thing about passages like this - you could just as easily use this to argue that Apple uses its market dominance in the US browser market to extort TAC from Google - that Google is the victim and Apple the monopolist 🤷‍♂️ https://twitter.com/...

• @jason_kint Jason Kint on x

  4) lawsuit claims majority (60%) of Google's search biz is due to exclusionary deals with OS and browsers to be default search. e.g G's deal with Firefox funds nearly all of parent Mozilla and likely prevented Firefox from leaning into tracking prevention until Safari came along.…

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  Sure feels like the Bill Barr DOJ put together a sloppy, weak gift of an antitrust case against Google to get headlines ahead of the election

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  If you are Google, you have been batting down most of the DOJ's argument in Europe, which has stronger antitrust laws and more aggressive regulators, for YEARS. This complaint is like a vacation for them.

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  “Google harshly stopping carrier bloatware should be illegal” is, again, not the best argument for DOJ. This whole thing feels like a missed opportunity. https://twitter.com/...

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  I think there are a lot of strong antitrust cases to be made against every big tech company, Google included. But “addressing Android fragmention is bad” just feels disconnected from reality

• @justiacom @justiacom on x

  This @techdirt “Weaponized Farce” article pretty much sums up the Barr DOJ's antitrust actions and the new Google case — by @KarlBode https://www.techdirt.com/...

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  DOJ antitrust complaint against Google focuses a lot on control of Android, without reckoning with the fact that Android phone makers are / were terrible at software and reviewers torched Google for not taking a stronger hand in the experience

• @googlepubpolicy @googlepubpolicy on x

  Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to — not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives. We will have a full statement this morning.

• @adamkovac Adam Kovacevich on x

  A few peanut-gallery thoughts on DOJ v Google as a veteran of Google #antitrust, based on DOJ preview in WSJ 1/ https://www.wsj.com/...

• @alecstapp @alecstapp on x

  🚨 The DOJ's antitrust complaint against Google is out! Thread with some of my initial reactions as I go through it... https://twitter.com/...

• @thejusticedept Justice Department on x

  “Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms...Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today's challenge against Google...for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the DOJ and for the American people.” — AG Barr …

• @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x

  2) curious about the effectiveness of google's argument that its deals with apple, carriers and other handset makers are like Coke buying supermarket shelf space. easy to understand but doesn't feel right since LOTS of people drink Pepsi and other sodas. Not the case w/ search

• @ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x

  Nothing really changes after Nov. 3. Expect a potential Biden administration to be as interested in a case against Google as the Trump administration. Career lawyers under Barr balked at his approach. But they believe strongly in a case.

• @senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x

  Two things can both be true: Bill Barr is a corrupt Trump crony who shouldn't be AG, and @TheJusticeDept has the power to pursue a legit antitrust suit against Google. The case is clear - in fact, it could have gone further. It must move forward without political interference. ht…

• @googlepubpolicy @googlepubpolicy on x

  The DOJ's deeply flawed lawsuit would do nothing to help consumers. It could actually raise phone prices, make it harder for people to access the services they want, and artificially prop up lower quality search services. Read our blog post→https://blog.google/ ...

• @kent_walker Kent Walker on x

  People don't use Google because they have to — they use it because it's helpful. People have endless options when it comes to accessing information online, and they can switch or download alternative search engines in a matter of seconds. https://blog.google/...

• @benthompson Ben Thompson on x

  1975: Microsoft founded ~22 years later~ 1997: US v Microsoft filed — 1998: Google founded ~22 years later~ 2020: US v Google filed *************************** Apparently being sued for antitrust is like graduating from college for tech companies.

• @repjerrynadler Rep. Nadler on x

  There is bipartisan agreement in Congress and among federal and state antitrust enforcers that protecting competition and innovation online is essential to our economy. Today's antitrust lawsuit against Google is an important step for ensuring a competitive online space. 1/2 http…

• @lancegooden Lance Gooden on x

  This is a great FIRST STEP in holding Big Tech accountable. https://twitter.com/...

• @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x

  Coming up for air with a few thoughts on today's DOJ lawsuit 1) Clearly, doj is using the microsoft playbook and case may hinge on whether google can argue successfully that changing search defaults remain as big of an impediment as it was to change browsers in the 90s and 00s

• @cnnbusiness @cnnbusiness on x

  The Trump administration will sue Google in what is the largest antitrust case against a tech company in more than two decades https://www.cnn.com/...

• @dhh @dhh on x

  Google's monopoly in search is a menace to society. They've steadily been making search worse by eroding the distinction between ads and organic results, pushing their own services over better alternatives, and shaking down companies for their trademarks. https://www.theverge.com…

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  General-purpose search might be the closest thing we have to a natural monopoly in online consumer services, and competition policy should focus on protecting other lines of business from the natural monopoly and not pretending that anybody can build a competitor.

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  2) The timing of this stinks, as does the partisan makeup of the states involved. As we have been documenting, YouTube has some of the least effective policies around election disinformation and it's hard to imagine they strengthen these under threat. https://www.eipartnership.ne…

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  That doesn't mean that there isn't room for new competitors at the specialized margins, or in related businesses (like Yelp), but if Microsoft can't compete after decades and billions, then it is fantasy to think DOJ action creates the space for five general search engines.

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  Google makes a copy of the public internet, parses it in close to real-time, builds incredibly complex models that have to match the taxonomy of knowledge across the entire species in many many languages and regions, and does so when millions are doing adversarial SEO.

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  VCs don't decline to fund Google Search competitors because Google pays browsers for customer acquisition, but because competing against the general use of Google is lunacy. 10 slide pitch deck, slide 4: First, we will purchase 5 exabytes of storage in 20 global datacenters.

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  Two things on the Google antitrust suit. 1) As a technologist, something that is really lacking from the complaint is a recognition that Google Search is dominant because building a competitor is *spectacularly difficult*! https://twitter.com/...

• @nfudc @nfudc on x

  A reminder that the tech industry is by no means the only one with a monopoly problem. Just 4 companies control: -85% of beef industry -85% of corn seed market -84% of pesticide/herbicide market Not to mention news media, health care, airlines, internet providers etc. https://twi…

• @keachhagey @keachhagey on x

  How dominant is Google? It has 95% market share in mobile search, 85% in mobile operating systems, 70% in browsers...https://www.wsj.com/ ... via @WSJ

• @ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x

  Many state AGs continue to investigate Google for search and ad tech and will likely file their own, bipartisan suit down the road.

• @adrjeffries @adrjeffries on x

  OK, to sum up: DOJ says Google protects its search monopoly through anti-competitive behavior, primarily exclusionary contracts. Search monopoly leads to advertising monopoly. All this makes search worse for users and ads worse for advertisers.

• @nytimes @nytimes on x

  At a press briefing, the Justice Department hailed its antitrust lawsuit against Google as a “milestone” in efforts to foster competition, but emphasized that this isn't a stopping point — suggesting it may pursue other monopoly cases against tech giants. https://www.nytimes.com/…

• @adrjeffries @adrjeffries on x

  Complaint says: “The revenues Google shares with Apple make up approximately 15-20 percent of Apple's worldwide net income.” Woah if true

• @adrjeffries @adrjeffries on x

  Poor Amazon. “Google's anti-forking provisions and policies limited the growth of Amazon's mobile phone, and of Fire OS, because major manufacturers declined to support Amazon's phone out of fear doing so would risk their lucrative deals with Google.”

• @johnnyryan Johnny Ryan on x

  Paragraph 13 of DOJ's filing v Google does a good job of summarising some (not all) of the consequences of Google's market position https://www.justice.gov/... https://twitter.com/...

• @tomfitton Tom Fitton on x

  CENSORSHIP: @RealDonaldTrump should demand FTC and DOJ immediately INVESTIGATE Twitter, Facebook, Google fraudulent business practices! Section 230 is no immunity against fraud. https://twitter.com/...

• @lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x

  @googlepubpolicy https://focusontheuser.com/ Google is harming consumers.

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  The US Google antitrust fling. Very narrow scope - nothing on ads/bundling/self-preferencing at all. Purely focused on TAC and paying for/obliging status as default search. The UK CMA also called this out as a barrier to search competition. But... https://www.justice.gov/...

• @xpangler Todd Spangler on x

  The DOJ's lawsuit against Google asks the court to “enter structural relief as needed to cure any anticompetitive harm” but officials declined to detail what that could mean in this case https://variety.com/...

• @hawleymo Josh Hawley on x

  This will be the most important antitrust suit in a generation. As the first state attorney general in the country to launch an antitrust investigation of @Google, I applaud this suit as desperately needed and long overdue. #BigTech's free pass is over https://twitter.com/...

• @mhbergen Mark Bergen on x

  “This provision is punitive to the carrier or manufacturer and helps to ensure that carriers and manufacturers will not stray from Google.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...