About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (December 02, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdcso0001 and id is 1 raw text is: December2, 2020 Google and Competition: Concerns Beyond the DOJ's Lawsuit On October20, 2020, the Departmentof Justice (DOJ) and 11 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google LIC under Section 2of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 2). The lawsuit alleges that Google unlawfully maintains monopolies in the markets for general s earch services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices. CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10544, The Go ogle Antitrust Lawsu it: Initial Observations, by Jay B. Sykes provides an in-depth discussion of the DOJ lawsuit. The DOJ lawsuit suggests structuralrelief-potentially involving divestitures of specific operations-as part of the potential remedy forGoogle's alleged anticompetitive conduct. Because the lawsuit focuses on Google's conduct in search services and search advertising, any structural remedies would likely focus on these services. For example, if the court finds that Google violated Section 2of the Sherman Act, it could order the separation of Google's search services and search advertising fromits other products or only fromspecific products, such as the company's mobile operating s ystemAndroid and its browser Chrome. Over the last two years, some Members of Congress have raised broader concerns about Google's conductin markets other than search services in congressional hearings and in a report is sued by the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and AdministrativeLaw, Investigation of Competition in DigitalMarkets. This In Focus explores some of these additional competition concerns that may not be addressedby theDOJ lawsuit. The DOJ lawsuit claims that Google unlawfully monopolizes the markets for search services and search advertising, but does not make similar claims about its other lines ofbusiness. Over theyears, Google has become a major force in several other markets not directly related to search. For example, according to the report by the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, 80% of the navigation app market is controlled by Google's apps-Google Maps and W aze. The report asserts that Google canuse its dominance in one digital market to gain an advantage and reduce competition in adjacent and unrelated markets. For example, Google's video s ervice YouTube generates revenue fromthe adjacent market ofdigitalvideo ad services and requires advertisers to use Google's advertising s ervice. Thereportstates that Google leveraged control overYouTube to foreclose competition in digitalvideo ad services, in part by excluding rival ad servers fromhaving access toYouTube. Dominance in one digitalmarket could help Google dominate a different market in the future. For example, Google's alleged dominance in navigation apps might help it acquire a commanding position in software for driverless cars, which may rely on up-to -date mapping to reach their destinations. To prevent this conduct, the report suggests that Google and other companies activein digitalmarkets could be required to divest or erect walls between certain operations or be prohibited fromentering certain markets. While these forms of restrictions could increase competition in some markets, they might simultaneously reduce it in others. The launch of Google Assistant, which uses Google's search service to providevoice assistance, has arguably increasedcompetition in a market in which Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa are majorplayers. Google's Chrome OS-a computer operating system- increased competitionin a market that was previously dominated by Microsoft's Windows andApple's MacOS. Restricting Google fromentering digital markets could make it easier for other firms to dominate those markets. The House Subcommittee on Antitrust asserts in its report that Google has established its positions in severalmarkets through acquisitions. According to the report, Google has purchasedwell over 260 companies -a figure that likely understates the fullbreadth ofGoogle's acquisitions, given that many ofthe firm's purchases have gone unreported. The report contends that some of Google's acquisitions have eliminated actual or potential competitors. Under federallaw, companies planning a merger or acquisition that is valued above a certain threshold are required to file a premergernotificationwith the DOJ and Federal Trade Commis sion (FTC). However, the DOJ and FTC have not blocked any ofGoogle's acquisitions, some of which may have been too small to meet the threshold for premerger notification. The DOJ lawsuit does notcite Google's acquisitions as an aspect ofits alleged anticompetitive conduct. Google may be able to decrease and forestall competition through acquisitions. If the acquisitions involve small or nascent companies, their value may notmeet the premerger notification threshold for automatic DOJ or FTC review. The acquired company may not yet occupy a large enough share of a product market to trigger competition concerns that could lead the DOJ or FTC to block the transaction. Restrictions on Google's ability to acquire existing businesses could reducecompetitionin some markets while increasing competition in others. The DOJ lawsuit alleges that Google used Android to maintain its dominance in search services and search advertising, in part by making \ Q

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most