FTC and DOJ Join Forces to Tackle Google’s Dominance in Search

For the past three weeks, Google has been entangled in a remedies trial concerning its dominance in search. This trial stems from an antitrust case that Google previously lost. Just as this remedial phase concluded, the FTC opted to back the DOJ’s suggested remedies, which form part of their proposed corrections for Google’s practices.

The FTC concurs with the DOJ’s strategy to dismantle Google’s control over the search market.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has expressed its support for the Department of Justice (DOJ), whose actions are intended to increase competition in the online search sector with the aim of dismantling Google’s dominant position.

The FTC, according to Reuters, said that increasing competition will put more pressure on Google to improve its privacy practices. During the trial, Google argued that the DOJ’s data-sharing proposal, in particular, would give away Google’s intellectual property and ultimately harm user privacy.

The FTC similarly supports the establishment of a committee for monitoring adherence to regulations. This committee ought to resemble those set up under the organization’s privacy-focused agreements.

The Department of Justice has several requirements, including the divestiture of Chrome.

In addition to the requirement for data sharing, one of the Department of Justice’s main demands is that Google should dispose of Chrome and cease making multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other firms to ensure Google Search remains prominently positioned on their devices.

Google contended that adopting a non-exclusive stance regarding its agreements is the appropriate strategy. The firm has already begun implementing this change and does not see any necessity to cease the practice completely.

Anthropic, on the other hand, an AI startup and Google’s partner, had something to say too. The company said that requiring Google to give the DOJ advance notice of its proposed AI investments and partnerships would create a “significant disincentive” for the company to invest in smaller AI companies.

The firm basically stated that this step would hurt rather than help the competitiveness within the AI industry. It’s also worth mentioning that Google holds a minor equity interest in Anthropic, valued at several billion dollars.

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FTC and DOJ Join Forces to Tackle Google’s Dominance in Search
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