{"id":2077376,"date":"2023-10-24T03:44:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T07:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-massive-bipartisan-google-antitrust-suit-is-a-fight-for-the-future-of-the-internet\/"},"modified":"2023-10-24T03:50:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T07:50:23","slug":"the-massive-bipartisan-google-antitrust-suit-is-a-fight-for-the-future-of-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-massive-bipartisan-google-antitrust-suit-is-a-fight-for-the-future-of-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Google Antitrust Suit: A Battle for the Internet&#8217;s Future."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-massive-bipartisan-google-antitrust-suit-is-a-fight-for-the-future-of-the-internet%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2077376&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Google antitrust search trial began on Sept. 18 \u200cin the U.S. District Court\u2064 for the District of Columbia. \u200cThis case represents \u200bone of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-massive-bipartisan-google-antitrust-suit-is-a-fight-for-the-future-of-the-internet\/\" title=\"The Google Antitrust Suit: A Battle for the Internet's Future.\">significant \u200cjoint antitrust \u200cenforcement efforts<\/a> between the U.S. Department of Justice \u2063and 50 state attorneys general.<\/p>\n<p>It is unprecedented \u200dfor that number of state AGs\u200c to come together in a bipartisan antitrust enforcement\u2062 effort.\u200b I was privileged to help lead this important effort up until the time I chose to leave office in January 2023.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-211041444\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0cdc33770ae3fbe25875413a830eb726 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0cdc33770ae3fbe25875413a830eb726\"><\/div>\n<p>Some conservatives have criticized our participation in and leadership of the\u200b Google AG coalition. Included in \u200btheir critiques\u200c are charges that our case is backward-looking and somehow dated\u200b (as if all litigation is\u2063 not \u2062by definition about the past; after all, we do not prosecute murders yet to\u200d take place). Of course,\u200c Big \u2063Tech \u200ccompanies \u200cfund many of these critics, including Google, as has been well documented elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2064 us assume, however, \u200bthat their criticism is sincere \u200dand pose the question: Why did I and others invest time and resources in the Google case? The answer is \u2062simple. Contrary to the criticism against it, the Google case is about nothing less than the future of \u2063the internet. \u200dThe \u2064case is\u2064 about the future of American\u200c consumers\u2019 privacy and control of their \u2062data.<\/p>\n<h2>Big Tech\u2019s Control of Personal Data<\/h2>\n<p>Many attorneys general \u200cfirst learned of Big Tech\u2019s control of enormous quantities\u200d of consumer data in a 2018 meeting with tech industry experts.\u200c They demonstrated the ways in which large \u200ctech\u200d companies gather, monetize, and manipulate personal data at the cost of accuracy and consumers\u2019 \u2064privacy.<\/p>\n<p>With Google, the case is relatively straightforward. First, it is no secret that \u200bGoogle has a durable monopoly over general search online. The\u200b company has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opinion-americas-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-will-open-the-door-for-sex-traffickers\/\" title=\"OPINION: America\u2019s Withdrawal From Afghanistan Will Open The Door For Sex Traffickers\">controlled approximately 90 percent<\/a> of the search market and related advertising revenues for well over a\u2062 decade. Simply \u2063having a monopoly does not violate \u2064our antitrust laws. But monopoly conduct to control \u2062the vast majority of consumer data through \u200bexclusionary contracts, as opposed to fair competition,\u2064 does.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c9dc6ed1012a6b8bd1fc41a5ef1d74b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c9dc6ed1012a6b8bd1fc41a5ef1d74b\"><\/div>\n<p>In Google\u2019s case, the monopoly conduct in question \u2063concerns\u2062 the ways in which it has created a stranglehold on the general search market\u2062 through exclusive dealing agreements with cell phone carriers, handset manufacturers, and others. In just one\u2062 agreement, Google pays around $19 billion annually to Apple to ensure\u2064 that \u200dGoogle\u2063 is the default search engine on \u2063all Apple handsets. This number tells you \u200bexactly how valuable the accumulation and control of search data is to Google\u2019s business model.<\/p>\n<h2>Big Tech, Not Government,\u2062 Regulates Privacy<\/h2>\n<p>These defaults are powerful, and they ensure that \u200bGoogle has a stranglehold on online data. Put simply, he who collects the data\u200b controls the market. He who\u2063 controls the data also controls consumer privacy \u2063online \u200cand, \u2062absent competition, becomes the nation\u2019s de facto privacy regulator.<\/p>\n<p>For American consumers, \u200bthis means that\u2062 in\u200b reality, their privacy \u2063regulators are not \u200btheir elected federal\u200c and state governments but rather the all-powerful Big Tech platforms, including Google. Americans have the Fourth Amendment to protect their privacy from government tyranny, but it has become increasingly clear that there is very little \u2063protecting their privacy from\u2063 private tyranny in the form of Big Tech monopolies.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200bthis spirit, my AG\u2064 colleagues and I opened an investigation into Google\u200d in 2018. A bipartisan coalition of AGs announced in 2019 our decision to pool resources \u200din investigating Google, culminating in a complaint we filed alongside the DOJ\u200d in \u2062late 2020.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-556798a84744d236304d8ef28cd477f4 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-556798a84744d236304d8ef28cd477f4\"><\/div>\n<p>This brings us back to the D.C. District Court \u200bin 2023. \u2062There are no easy fixes\u2063 before the court in the Google case, but I would submit that the surest way to break up Big Tech\u2019s control \u2063over Americans\u2019 data and data privacy \u2064is to curb its control of\u2064 the collection and use \u2063of\u2063 the data in the first instance.<\/p>\n<h2>Opening\u200c the Tech Market to Competition<\/h2>\n<p>Imagine a world in which not every Apple \u2064phone defaults to\u2062 Google search. Consumers \u200cwould be free to choose whether to share\u200c their personal data, and if\u2064 so, where\u200b that data goes, teeing up\u2063 competition in privacy as well as other dimensions of competition.<\/p>\n<p>If you think this competition matters today, then imagine a world in which AI has become ubiquitous and fully mainstream. As things stand, \u2064the Big \u200bTech platforms \u200dare poised to control AI\u2019s future because they control the all-powerful datasets needed to train future AI applications.<\/p>\n<p>As The Economist recently explained, AI is poised to build a moat \u200daround existing Big Tech monopolies, not disrupt them. The same holds true for quantum computing, which is\u2063 the next technology on\u2063 the horizon.\u200d Both AI and quantum computing \u200dwill arise without meaningful public policy\u200b guardrails in place.<\/p>\n<h2>As\u200c Congress Stalls, Courts Must Act<\/h2>\n<p>Sure,\u2064 the Senate under Majority \u2064Leader Chuck\u200b Schumer, D-N.Y., says it is \u200clooking into drafting legislation that would \u200cplace guardrails on AI. But why wait for the Senate? \u200dAfter all,\u2062 the same Senate\u2063 sat on Big Tech antitrust legislation \u2063in\u2064 the \u200clast Congress, despite the bills having\u2062 strong bipartisan support. The future \u2062of the internet lies far more in the\u200b hands of a district court judge in the Google antitrust litigation than it does\u200b in the hands of\u200d the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Many agree that the Microsoft case in the \u200b\u201990s, based on very similar antitrust allegations to those in the Google case, created a much\u2062 more competitive market\u2062 for internet services. As a result, nascent companies like Google and \u2062Facebook were allowed to enter the market to\u200b compete on\u200c a level playing field.<\/p>\n<p>The future of the internet and consumers\u2019 \u2063ability to \u200ccontrol the use of their data is not a conservative or liberal issue. It\u200b is a matter of the individual\u2019s right to control \u2062his or her\u200b own data.<\/p>\n<p>Limiting Google\u2019s ability\u2063 to monopolize the market on data collection\u2062 will also allow for\u200d free and \u200cfair market competition and innovation, while \u2064providing guardrails on the collection\u2062 and use of that extremely valuable commodity known as consumer data.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5bc37c61a7dec39fa4ca0035e0cb09a2 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5bc37c61a7dec39fa4ca0035e0cb09a2\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>What role do exclusive dealing\u200c agreements play in Google&#8217;s control over the general search \u200dmarket?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The Google \u2064antitrust search trial began on\u200d September\u200b 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, marking one \u2062of \u200dthe most significant joint antitrust enforcement efforts between \u2062the U.S. Department of Justice\u2064 and 50 state attorneys general. This case has garnered \u200cattention\u2063 for its bipartisan nature, bringing together\u200c state attorneys general from both sides of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the criticism from conservatives, who claim that the case is\u2064 backward-looking and outdated, the significance of the Google\u200c case cannot be understated. \u200bIt \u2063is\u200c about nothing less than\u2062 the future of the internet and American consumers&#8217; privacy\u2064 and control \u2064of their data.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 attorneys general first became aware \u200bof Big \u2063Tech&#8217;s control over consumer\u200b data in a \u2064meeting with tech industry experts in 2018. These experts demonstrated how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paxton-urges-gop-state-lawmakers-to-tighten-election-integrity-laws\/\" title=\"Paxton Urges GOP State Lawmakers to Tighten Election Integrity Laws\">large tech companies<\/a>, including Google, \u2064gather, monetize, and \u2063manipulate personal data at the expense of accuracy and privacy.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of\u2063 Google,\u2064 the issue revolves around its monopoly\u200d over general online search. Google has controlled approximately\u2062 90 percent of the search market and related advertising revenues for\u2064 over a decade. While having a monopoly does not \u2064necessarily violate antitrust laws, using exclusionary contracts to control the\u2064 vast majority\u200b of consumer\u200b data crosses the line.<\/p>\n<p>Google&#8217;s conduct includes\u200d exclusive dealing agreements with cell phone carriers, handset manufacturers, and others, creating a stranglehold on the general \u2063search market. For example, Google pays around $19 billion annually to Apple to ensure that Google is the default search engine on all\u200d Apple handsets. This demonstrates how valuable\u200c the accumulation and control\u200b of search data are to \u200cGoogle&#8217;s business \u2063model.<\/p>\n<p>These defaults give Google a significant advantage in controlling online\u200c data, effectively making Big Tech\u2062 companies the de\u2064 facto privacy regulators. This means \u200bthat\u2062 American consumers&#8217;\u200c privacy is\u2062 not regulated by their elected federal and state governments but by the all-powerful\u2063 Big Tech platforms. While the Fourth Amendment protects privacy from government intrusion, there is little to protect it from private tyranny \u200bin the form of\u2062 Big Tech monopolies.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, a group \u200cof attorneys\u200d general, including \u200bmyself, initiated an investigation into Google. This bipartisan coalition of attorneys general decided to pool resources and filed a \u200ccomplaint alongside the \u200bDepartment of Justice\u2064 in\u200b late \u200b2020, leading \u200bus to the D.C. District Court in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>While there are no easy fixes to the issues presented in the\u200d Google \u200bcase, one possible solution is to curb Big\u200b Tech&#8217;s control over the collection \u200dand use of consumer data. This would break up their control over Americans&#8217; data\u2062 and\u200d data \u200dprivacy, leading to a\u200c more competitive market.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine a world where not every Apple phone defaults\u2064 to Google search. Consumers\u200b would\u2063 have the freedom to choose whether to share their personal \u2063data and where that data<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Google antitrust trial started on Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This case is a major collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and 50 state attorneys general, marking an unprecedented joint effort in antitrust enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2503,"featured_media":2077377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2077376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2077376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2077377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2077376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2077376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2077376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}