US Justice Department sues Google in Antitrust Case 

  • IASbaba
  • October 23, 2020
  • 0
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US Justice Department sues Google in Antitrust Case 

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Technology; Internet 

In news

  • Recently, the US Justice Department sued Google. 
  • It has accused the company of illegally abusing its dominance in internet search. 
  • It has been harming competitors and consumers.

Key takeaways 

  • The action against the company comes after a report by the US House of Representatives panel. 
  • The panel had found that Google, Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc all abused their power as gatekeepers in the digital economy to diminish competitive threats.
  • Google is illegally protecting its dominant position in the market for search and search advertising through the deals it has signed with tech companies.
  • Google has contracts with smartphone makers that use its Android operating system. These require them to install its search engine as the default.
  • All this stifles competition and innovation from smaller startups and harms consumers by reducing the quality of search and limiting privacy protections and alternative search options.

Do you know? 

  • Many countries have broad laws that protect consumers and regulate how companies operate their businesses.
  • The goal of these laws is to provide an equal playing field.
  • These are called antitrust laws.
  • Also, various antitrust probes are going on against Google in India. 
  • Google has had run-ins with regulators, especially the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

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