Report: US DOJ Prepping Anti-Trust Lawsuit Against Google

Photo: Getty Images [via NY Post]

The Facts

  • The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.'s Google in the coming weeks over its dominance in the online advertising market.

  • The DOJ has allegedly been investigating Google's ad-tech practices since 2019 and has recently expedited the inquiry, with sources familiar with the matter saying the newest suit could come as soon as next month.


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Google is using its market power to crush competition and impede innovation. For far too long Big Tech companies have had vast amounts of unchecked power and influence. Even if this lawsuit is unsuccessful, it's still a step in the right direction toward challenging the power of Big Tech.

Establishment-critical narrative

Although Google dominates web search-based ads, it doesn't have a monopoly on the digital ad market; it actually faces stiff competition from other tech firms. To meaningfully increase competition as the DOJ seemingly seeks to do, Google would have to be broken into fragments, which would hinder technology and inconvenience users.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance that Google will be supplanted as the top search engine in the US by market share by 2056, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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