It’s been a tough week for Google which just lost a major antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Government.
The company was categorized as an illegal monopolist in the world of search. Clearly, the victory is major and one that has come after years of struggle in proving the Android maker wrong.
While we should be celebrating, experts are discussing diminishing hopes related to tech reforms. Remember, the victory is massive but it’s the first of its kind experienced by the movement.
Most importantly, the decision arose due to a new law and not from a judge’s point of view. In America, the Congress refuses to act unless and until the court intervenes. This is exactly what took place here.
The last time we saw a movement passed was in 1996. This was when the internet was new to the world. After that, the tech world and Silicon Valley went unchecked. There were a lot of debates on what should be done and how much power the Big Tech was accumulating.
After the election period, Donald Trump sprung into action and there were concerns linked to a huge movement that featured lawmakers vowing to make more reforms. Since then, not a lot has taken place. We’re still waiting for Congress to pass meaningful laws that restrict the Big Tech giants.
There are many debates as to why this took place. It might have to do with a pushback that had the funds from big tech firms. Maybe it was linked to Americans having a certain fondness for certain companies. Whatever the case may be, we’re still at ground zero.
Right now, it seems that any big reform in the Big Tech will come through the courtroom. This is if the Federal Government intervenes with challenges. Look at this week’s lawsuit outcome against Google. Thanks to Donald Trump’s DOJ, the case was filed. It was also the FTC from his presidential era that launched a lawsuit against Facebook’s parent firm Meta.
Meanwhile, Biden’s administration brought charges against tech giants Amazon and Apple, not to mention another case against Google.
We’ve similarly seen Biden’s administration use legal actions to sue and threaten many big tech acquisitions. They have a track record for lawsuit success that’s not great but there is a serious threat linked to litigation that stands at a bare minimum.
Now the question is what this means for the long term? In reality, we don’t know and neither do the experts. Such cases that are already filed might take another few years to reach a final resolution. Did we mention how appeals generated would further the timeframe?
The last time the courts were used by the government to keep Big Tech at bay was in 1998. The decision had to do with breaking up Microsoft. However, the software giant issued an appeal that worked well in its favor. Today, it’s one of the biggest tech success stories we have.
On the contrary, several former executives from the firm might give you the flip side of the story. They’ll talk about the case slowing the organization down by a huge amount. This is even if it didn’t break up.
The argument here is related to legal proceedings that made the Microsoft less open to changes and shifts, including going from computers to mobile phones. Looks like using the courtroom for battles might be the only way for the Big Tech reform we’ve envisioned, at least in the US.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Meta Apologizes For ‘Accidentally’ Deleting Malaysian Prime Minister’s Condolences To Hamas
The company was categorized as an illegal monopolist in the world of search. Clearly, the victory is major and one that has come after years of struggle in proving the Android maker wrong.
While we should be celebrating, experts are discussing diminishing hopes related to tech reforms. Remember, the victory is massive but it’s the first of its kind experienced by the movement.
Most importantly, the decision arose due to a new law and not from a judge’s point of view. In America, the Congress refuses to act unless and until the court intervenes. This is exactly what took place here.
The last time we saw a movement passed was in 1996. This was when the internet was new to the world. After that, the tech world and Silicon Valley went unchecked. There were a lot of debates on what should be done and how much power the Big Tech was accumulating.
After the election period, Donald Trump sprung into action and there were concerns linked to a huge movement that featured lawmakers vowing to make more reforms. Since then, not a lot has taken place. We’re still waiting for Congress to pass meaningful laws that restrict the Big Tech giants.
There are many debates as to why this took place. It might have to do with a pushback that had the funds from big tech firms. Maybe it was linked to Americans having a certain fondness for certain companies. Whatever the case may be, we’re still at ground zero.
Right now, it seems that any big reform in the Big Tech will come through the courtroom. This is if the Federal Government intervenes with challenges. Look at this week’s lawsuit outcome against Google. Thanks to Donald Trump’s DOJ, the case was filed. It was also the FTC from his presidential era that launched a lawsuit against Facebook’s parent firm Meta.
Meanwhile, Biden’s administration brought charges against tech giants Amazon and Apple, not to mention another case against Google.
We’ve similarly seen Biden’s administration use legal actions to sue and threaten many big tech acquisitions. They have a track record for lawsuit success that’s not great but there is a serious threat linked to litigation that stands at a bare minimum.
Now the question is what this means for the long term? In reality, we don’t know and neither do the experts. Such cases that are already filed might take another few years to reach a final resolution. Did we mention how appeals generated would further the timeframe?
The last time the courts were used by the government to keep Big Tech at bay was in 1998. The decision had to do with breaking up Microsoft. However, the software giant issued an appeal that worked well in its favor. Today, it’s one of the biggest tech success stories we have.
On the contrary, several former executives from the firm might give you the flip side of the story. They’ll talk about the case slowing the organization down by a huge amount. This is even if it didn’t break up.
The argument here is related to legal proceedings that made the Microsoft less open to changes and shifts, including going from computers to mobile phones. Looks like using the courtroom for battles might be the only way for the Big Tech reform we’ve envisioned, at least in the US.
Read next: Meta Apologizes For ‘Accidentally’ Deleting Malaysian Prime Minister’s Condolences To Hamas
