A week after a judge ruled that Alphabet’s Google illegally monopolized the online search market, the US Department of Justice is considering options that include breaking up the tech giant, worth some $2tn, according to reports from the New York Times and Bloomberg News.
Divesting the Android operating system was one of the remedies most frequently discussed by justice department attorneys, the reports said.
Officials were also considering trying to force a possible sale of AdWords, Google’s search ad program, and a possible divestment of its Chrome web browser, according to the reports.
I got into an argument with Lemmy nerds yesterday where some dweeb suggested that a brand new browser being developed from scratch (Ladybird) would help shake off Chrome's browser monopoly. I said the only way that can happen is if Google is broken up. Labour aristocrat techbros' "grassroots" campaign will be nothing more than a hobby project.
I don't think DoJ is gonna do anything meaningful to Google ever. Regardless I feel vindicated.
Step 1: create alternative
Step 2: use chromium?? Or don't.
Step 3: get bought out by Google.
ladybird devs are also anti woke weirdos who lost their shit when people wanted them to change masculine to gender neutral pronouns in the documentations, its from serenity which is a related project: https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/pull/6814
Tbh I started shitting on the project because of this otherwise I would have just avoided the online discussion about it.
The founding fathers, in their infinite wisdom, designed the three branches of the government of the United States of America to have a series of checks and balances to protect their fragile republic from threats such as this. Now we all get to see it in action:
The Judicial branch has ruled that Google is an illegal monopoly and should be broken up, but it doesn't have the power to do so directly, it has to advise the Legislative and Executive branches to do it. However, the 4th and 5th branches of government - the CIA and the Lobbies - both want Google to remain intact. The CIA finds Google's tech dominance extremely useful, and the Lobbies' patrons make a lot of money from it.
So, the Judicial branch advises the Legislative and Executive branches what they should do, but before they do anything the CIA and the Lobbies review the advice and then tell the Legislative and Executive branches what they will do, which in this case will probably be some massive (small for Google) fines.
See? Checks and balances! The different moving parts all working together to ensure that the Government serves the people it was created to serve.
the people it was created to serve.
If you don't like it, have you tried just being a rich white billionaire?
Yes that's my plan. I'm definitely smart enough to be one. I just need to wait for the right opportunity.
the CIA, NSA, and other ALPHABET agencies created and basically run Google.. i can't imagine this going far
I think this is extremely unlikely, the days of the government actually pushing back against corporations in any meaningful way in the US seems largely over.
Even if somehow it did go through, there would be functionally very little impact. They'd sulk a bit about the government stifling "innovation", walk away with their tail between their legs, and then go back to operating almost entirely unchanged.
US government is a dinosaur. The tech companies have advanced way faster than the government's conprehension of the sector. Even if the government had the will to control, I am not sure they would know what to do. But that is a non-factor because it seems like as long as tech companies are amicable to helping the military conduct its cacophany of genocides abrod and the federal government with domestic repression, the government does not care what the tech companies are up to.
That's an insult to Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are/were fucking awesome, innocent and majestic animals that were wiped out way too soon.
The U.S. government is one of the most evil organizations in all of human history, on par with the Nazis, ISIS, the Order of Nine Angels, Falun Gong, Shen Yun, the Republican party, the Tories, and Turning Point U.S.A.
If I remember correctly, this is less about Google holding a monopoly and more about Google and the Republican/Trump side of the US government being at odds with one another politically.
Yes and no. This is directly coming from Lina Kahn but Dems are definitely running off GOP fear of not knowing how a WiFi or TikTok works. It’s less about protecting consumer protections and more about “competition”.
I thought this DOJ was democrat? Also, from Google's POV wouldn't it be better to help Trump win in exchange for all of this being swept under the rug?
I believe Trump began the investigation. I remember hearing about this when he was still in office.
Ah that makes sense. Well, hopefully the break up happens then but I share the skepticism of others here.
Assuming this even goes through, we're just gonna end up with an oligopoly like when AT&T was broken up.
Google's ability to crush unionization comes from the fact that it is so big. If it is broken up, even with an oligopoly, workers have a better shot at unionizing than they do currently.
As if.
There's a better chance of anti-trust legislation being changed to allow a larger degree of monopoly.
It would be so satisfying considering what they're doing with Chrome in the past few years and adamantly forcing their bullshit on everyone.
